“But there may still be danger in it.”
“No; trust me; very little. It can be done quietly. There is your place of Thorn.”
“Thorn! Why, it is half in ruins, and no one ever goes there.”
“Nan, my sweet, are you a fool?”
“No, Stephen; but—”
“The country air and food, and contact with some simple couple—what more could the poor wench wish for? An old house in the deeps of Sussex, seven miles from a town. Why, it is made for such a case.”
She looked at him helplessly, for her selfish worldliness had received a shock that night.
“There is no other way?”
“None, unless you wish to feel a silk rope round your neck, my dear.”
They said little more that night, my lord putting on a cloak to hide his powder-blackened coat, and kissing her very kindly before he went. He gave her a few words of warning, commended Mrs. Jael to her, and spoke of the money that should be forthcoming. Barbara was to see no one but Mrs. Jael and her mother. They were to keep her locked in her room till my lord should bring a physician whom he could trust to inquire into the state of the girl’s mind.