son, and I meant to leave him with your mother so he could be raised right.” She paused, and put her hand to her throat, then went bravely on. “Your mother was kind — she gave me wine — she brought it to me herself. I knew what I ought to do, but I wasn’t strong enough. It seemed as if something here in my breast was bleeding, and my baby would die if I did it. When I came out, he was in your sister’s arms and had been crying, and it seemed as if all I had planned had happened, and I took him and carried him away quickly. I couldn’t go fast enough, and I left the inn that night. The world seemed all like Vanity Fair.”

David rose and stood before her looking down into her eyes. He could not control his voice in speaking, and she felt his hands quiver as they rested on her