Then again--Oliver must
renounce and throw away all that is implied in family memories and
traditions. His wife could never speak to her children and his of her
own mother and bringing up. They would be kept in ignorance, as she
herself was kept, till the time came that they must know. Say what you
will, Juliet Sparling was condemned to death for murder in a notorious
case--after a trial which also branded her as a thief. Think of a boy at
Eton or Oxford--a girl in her first youth--hearing for the first
time--perhaps in some casual way--the story of the woman whose blood ran
in theirs!--What a cloud on a family!--what a danger and drawback for
young lives!"
Her delicate features, under the crown of white hair, were once more
flooded with color, and the passion in her eyes held them steady under
Sir James's penetrating look. Through his inner mind there ran the cry:
"Pharisee!--Hypocrite!"
But he fought on.
"Lady Lucy!--your son loves this girl--remember that! And in herself you
admit that she is blameless--all that you could desire for his
wife--remember that also."
"I remember both. But I was brought up by people who never admitted that
any feeling was beyond our control or ought to be indulged--against
right and reason.
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