"The matter is--ruin! I am a felon, my lady! And it were better that you
had been crushed to death in that railway collision than lived to rejoin
me here! I am a wretch, too base to live! And I wish the earth would
open beneath our feet and swallow us!"
The lady stepped back, appalled, and before she could think of a reply,
the door opened and Mrs. Brudenell, who had been, awakened by the
disturbance, sailed into the room.
"It is my mother!" said the young man, struggling for composure. And
rising, he took the hand of the stranger and led her to the elder lady,
saying: "This is the Countess of Hurstmonceux, madam; I commend her to your
care."
And having done this, he turned and abruptly left the room and the
house.