Lady Eleanor
offered her everything that she could think of, even to a remote
cottage in the woods where she would certainly live undisturbed; but
the woman only begged that she might not be asked to say where she
lived nor to give any account of herself. She was quite alone with her
son, she said, and lived an honest harmless life. As to Tommy Fry, she
could not understand how any words of hers could have taken his speech
from him; it was nonsense, and the women were fools. Finally, she said
that if Lady Eleanor really wished to be kind she would let them go and
not try to find them again; but she faithfully promised that if
anything went wrong, she would come to her first for help.
So Lady Eleanor seeing that she was in earnest promised to do as she
had said; and the woman thanked her with real gratitude. Then Dick and
Elsie came in again to say good-bye, and the woman, taking her son by
the arm, led him away. He moved so feebly that Lady Eleanor offered
her a pony for him to ride, but his mother refused, though with many
thanks; so the two passed away slowly across the park, and disappeared.
"Well, there is Tommy Fry cured at any rate," said Colonel Fitzdenys.
"And I believe that the woman spoke the truth, when she said that she
did not know what she had done to him. And now I must see to this man
who is locked up in the stable.
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