"That is a strange answer."
"If he is, _I_ am changed." And this she said doggedly and unlike
herself.
"What!" said Sir Charles, very gravely, and with a sort of awe: "can a
woman withdraw her affection from her child, her innocent child? If so,
my turn may come next."
"Oh, Charles! Charles!" and the tears began to well.
"Why, who can be secure after this? What is so stable as a mother's
love? If that is not rooted too deep for gusts of caprice to blow it
away, in Heaven's name, what is?"
No answer to that but tears.
Sir Charles looked at her very long, attentively, and seriously, and
said not another syllable.
But his dropping so suddenly a subject of this importance was rather
suspicious, and Lady Bassett was too shrewd not to see that.
They watched each other.
But with this difference: Sir Charles could not conceal his anxiety,
whereas the lady appeared quite tranquil.
One day Sir Charles said, cheerfully, "Who do you think dines here
to-morrow, and stays all night? Dr. Suaby."
"By invitation, dear?" asked Lady Bassett, quietly.
Sir Charles colored a little, and said, quietly, "Yes."
Lady Bassett made no remark, and it was impossible to tell by her face
whether the visit was agreeable or not.
Some time afterward, however, she said, "Whom shall I ask to meet Dr.
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