Before his departure he saw
Lady Eversleigh and her mother, and established with them a bond of
friendship as close as that of their kin. He provided liberally for
Miss Brewer, but her rescue from poverty brought her no happiness: she
was a broken-hearted woman.
Victor Carrington's mother retired into a convent, and was probably as
happy as she had ever been. She had loved him but little, whose only
virtue was that he had loved her much.
Captain Copplestone's rapture knew no bounds when he clasped little
Gertrude in his arms once more. He was almost jealous of Rosamond
Jernam, when he found how great a hold she had obtained on the heart of
her charge; but his jealousy was mingled with gratitude, and he joined
Lady Eversleigh in testifying his friendship for the tender-hearted
woman who had protected and cherished the heiress of Raynham in the
hour of her desolation.
It is not to be supposed that the world remained long in ignorance of
this romantic episode in the common-place story of every-day life.
Paragraphs found their way into the newspapers, no one knew how, and
society marvelled at the good fortune of Sir Oswald's widow.
"That woman's wealth must be boundless," exclaimed aristocratic
dowagers, for whom the grip of poverty's bony fingers had been tight
and cruel. "Her husband left her magnificent estates, and an enormous
amount of funded property; and now a mother drops down from the skies
for her benefit--a mother who is reported to be almost as rich as
herself.
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