"You are very kind," answered Maria, with a shrinking spirit and a voice that faltered. Two points in Mrs. Pain's words had struck upon her ominously. The mention of the letters, and the hint conveyed in the expression, things turning out "badly" for George. "Have you heard from him?" she continued.

"Heard from him!--how could I?" returned Charlotte. "London letters don't come in this morning. What should he have to write to me about, either? I have heard from another quarter, and I have heard the rumours in Prior's Ash."

"Will you tell me what you have heard?" rejoined Maria.

"Well," said Charlotte in a friendly tone, as she leaned towards her, "I suppose the docket will be struck to-day--if it is not struck already.

The Philistines are down on the house, and mean to declare it bankrupt."

Maria sat in blank dismay. She understood very little of the details of these business matters. Charlotte was quite at home in such things.

"What will be the proceedings?" Maria asked, after a pause. "What do they do?"

"Oh, there's a world of bother," returned Charlotte. "It will drive quiet Thomas G.o.dolphin crazy. The books have all to be gone through, and accounts of moneys rendered. The worst is, they'll come here and note down every individual thing in the house, and then put a man in to see that nothing's moved. That agreeable item in the business I dare say you may expect this morning."

Let us give Charlotte her due. She had really come in a sympathizing, friendly spirit to Maria G.o.dolphin, and in no other. It may be, that Charlotte rather despised her for being so simple and childish in the ways of the world, but that was only the more reason why she should help her if she could. Every word of information that Mrs. Pain was giving was as a dagger thrust in Maria's heart. Charlotte had no suspicion of this. Had a similar calamity happened to herself, she would have discussed it freely with all the world: possessing no extreme sensibility of feeling, she did not understand it in another. For Maria to talk of the misfortune, let its aspect be ever so bad, seemed to Charlotte perfectly natural.

Charlotte leaned closer to Maria, and spoke in a whisper. "Is there anything you'd like to put away?"

"To put away?" repeated Maria, not awake to the drift of the argument.

"Because you had better give it to me at once. Spoons, or plate of any sort, or your own jewellery; any little things that you may want to save. I'll carry them away under my shawl. Don't you understand me?" she added, seeing the blank perplexity on Maria's face. "If once those harpies of men come in, you can't move or hide a single article, but you might put the whole house away now, if you could get it out."

"But suppose it were known?" asked Maria.

"Then there'd be a row," was Charlotte's candid answer. "Who's to know it? Look at that greedy little monkey?"

Meaning Miss Meta, who was filling her mouth quickly with the pieces of ham and the b.u.t.tered roll, seemingly with great relish.

"Is it good, child?" said Charlotte.

For answer, Meta nodded her head, too busy to speak. Maria, as in civility bound, invited her visitor to take some breakfast.

"I don't care if I do," said Charlotte. "I was just going to breakfast when I came off to you. Look here, Mrs. George G.o.dolphin, I'll help myself; you go meanwhile and make up a few parcels for me. Just what you set most value by, you know."

"I should be afraid," answered Maria.

"What is there to be afraid of?" asked Charlotte, opening her eyes.

"They'll be safe enough at the Folly. That is Lady G.o.dolphin's: her private property. The bankruptcy can't touch that; as it will this place and Ashlydyat. For the matter of that, I'd swear they were mine with all the pleasure in life, if they did get seen."

"Ashlydyat!" broke from Maria's lips.

"Ashlydyat will have to go of course, and everything in it. At the same time that those harpies walk in here, another set will walk into Ashlydyat. I should like to see Janet's face when they arrive! You make haste, and put up all you can. There may be no time to lose."

"I do not think it would be right," debated Maria.

"Stuff and nonsense about 'right!' such things are done every day. I dare say you have many little valuables that you had rather keep than lose."

"I have many that it would be a great grief to me to lose."

"Well, go and put them together. I will take every care of them, and return them to you when the affair has blown over."

Maria hesitated. To her honourable mind, there appeared to be something like fraud in attempting such a thing. "Will you allow me just to ask Thomas G.o.dolphin if I may do it?" she said.

Charlotte Pain began to think that Maria must be an idiot. "Ask Thomas G.o.dolphin! You _would_ get an answer! Why, Mrs. George, you know what Thomas G.o.dolphin is--with his strait-laced principles! He would cut himself in two, rather than save a b.u.t.ton, if it was not legally his to save. I believe that if by the stroke of a pen he could make it appear that Ashlydyat could not be touched, he wouldn't make the stroke. Were you to go with such a question to Thomas G.o.dolphin, he'd order you, in his brother's name, not to put aside as much as a ten-and-sixpenny ring.

You must do it without the knowledge of Thomas G.o.dolphin."

"Then I think I would rather not do it," said Maria. "Thank you all the same, Mrs. Pain."

Mrs. Pain shrugged her shoulders with a movement of contempt, threw off her hat, and drew her chair to the breakfast-table. Maria poured out some coffee, and helped her to what she chose to take.

"Are you sure--the people you speak of will be in the house to-day?"

asked Maria.

"I suppose they will."

"I wish George would come back?" involuntarily broke from Maria's lips.

"He'd be a great simpleton if he did," said Charlotte. "He's safer where he is."

"Safer from what?" quickly asked Maria.

"From bother. I should not come if I were George. I should let them fight the battle out without me. Mrs. George G.o.dolphin," added Charlotte, meaning to be good-natured, "you had better reconsider your resolve and let me save you a few things. Not a stick or stone will be left to you. This will be a dreadful failure, and you won't be spared.

They'll take every trinket you possess, leaving you nothing but your wedding-ring."

Maria could not be persuaded. She seemed altogether in a fog, understanding little: but she felt that what Charlotte proposed would not be within the strict rules of right.

"They'll poke their noses into drawers and boxes, into every hole and corner in the house; and from that time forth the things are not yours, but theirs," persisted Charlotte, for her information.

"I cannot help it," sighed Maria. "I wish George was here!" "At any rate, you'll do one thing," said Charlotte. "You'll let me carry off the child for the day. It will not be a pleasant sight for her, young as she is, to witness a lot of great hulking men going through the rooms, marking down the furniture. I'll take her back with me."

Maria made no immediate reply. She did not particularly like the companionship of Mrs. Pain for Meta. Charlotte saw her hesitation.

"Are you thinking she will be a trouble? Nothing of the sort. I shall be glad to have her for the day, and it is as well to spare her such sights. I am sure her papa would say so."

Maria thought he would, and she thought how kind Mrs. Pain was.

Charlotte turned to Meta.

"Will Meta come and spend the day at Lady G.o.dolphin's Folly?--and have a high swing made between the trees, and go out in the carriage in the afternoon, and buy sugar-plums?"

Meta looked dubious, and honoured Mrs. Pain with a full stare in the face. Notwithstanding the swing and the sugar-plums--both very great attractions indeed to Meta--certain reminiscences of her last visit to the Folly were intruding themselves.

"Are the dogs there?" asked she.

Charlotte gave a most decided shake of the head. "The dogs are gone,"

she said. "They were naughty dogs to Meta, and they have been shut up in the pit-hole, and can never come out again."

"Never, never?" inquired Meta, her wide-open eyes as earnest as her tone.

"Never," said Charlotte. "The great big pit-hole lid's fastened down with a strong bra.s.s chain: a chain as thick as Meta's arm. It is all right," added Charlotte in an aside whisper to Maria, while pretending to reach over the breakfast-table for an egg-spoon. "She shan't as much as hear the dogs. I'll have them shut up in the stable. We'll have such a beautiful swing, Meta!"