"
There was an implied rebuke in this answer, and it silenced Mrs. Martha,
who said no more of Hannah, but as soon as possible got her lord to bed,
with a soapstone at his feet and a blanket wrapped around him, in order
to make him sweat and break up the cold she was certain he had taken.
Meanwhile at the farm-house Burton and his sister were standing together
near the kitchen fire, where poor Grey had stood two hours before, and
heard what changed the coloring of his whole life. They were speaking of
him, and what they said was this:
"If it were only myself I might bear it," Burton said, "though life can
never be to me again what it has been, and I shall think like Cain that
the sin is branded on me; and I was so proud, and stood so high, and
meant to make the name of Jerrold so honorable a name that Grey and his
children would rejoice that they bore it. Of course Grey will never
know, but I shall, and that will make a difference. Hannah," he added,
quickly, struck by something in her face, "what did you mean, or rather
what did father mean by your making restitution to the peddler's
friends? What is there to restore?"
In his recital of his crime the old man had omitted to speak of the
money and the will, or, at most, he had touched so lightly upon them
that it had escaped the notice of his son, whose mind was wholly
absorbed in one idea, and that of the body buried under the floor within
a few feet of him.
Pages:
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197