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If only she had someone to talk to, someone to advise her. Not Parson Hedley; she felt he wouldn't be much comfort at this time because he was dealing with sin; and sin, even by the parson's standards, must always be punished. She wanted someone . someone like Matthew. If only Matthew would step by. It only it was Sunday and she could tell Jimmy. Jimmy would go back and tell him, then he would come. But even so it would be too late, 'cos Jimmy wouldn't see him until Monday now that he lived at the mill, and she had to be in Shields with Bella by ten o'clock on the Monday. She couldn't tell William to tell him in case she should overhear. William wasn't as wise as Jimmy.

She was sick with worry and striving; she felt very, very tired. She wished. What did she wish? That she would die in the night. Stupid thinking, weak thinking. What would become of the others if anything happened to her? But oh, she was tired, she was so tired these days that she kept telling herself that she was tired. The man came just after she had doled out the small helpings of broth to each of them.

She had chastised Joe for gulping at his and not eating it slowly, warning him that there was no more for him, when there came the three small knocks on the door, and when she opened it and saw him standing there she felt for a moment glad to see him. He was, in a strange way, and in spite of her fear of him, almost like a friend. He glanced at the children standing round the table, then said, "I wonder if I could speak to you a moment;

would it be too cold for you to walk a little way? "

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she said, "No; no. I'll just get me shawl. "

She went out with him and walked a few yards away from the dwelling; then he stopped and looked at her and said, "I was greatly concerned about you yesterday and your trouble and I took the liberty of putting your case before His Lordship. As I said, it is only people such as His Lordship that have the power to alter the course of justice.

Well"-He paused and rubbed his gloved hands together and seemed disinclined to go on, but after a moment, when she remained silent, her eyes fixed tight on his face, he added, " His Lordship thinks that he could persuade Mr. Braithwaite to overlook the case against your sister, but . but he would expect you to do something for him in return. And"--he swallowed deeply-- " I don't need to have to put that into words, do I? "

She overlapped the shawl across her neck; the knuckles of her thumbs digging into the sides of her windpipe almost stopped her breathing; then she moved her head twice, but in such a way that he did not take it as a refusal; he just waited while, unblinking, she stared at him.

And the seed he had dropped last night and that had been growing rapidly in her mind sprang into poisonous growth before her eyes, and as if defending herself against something visible she thrust out her hand and backed from him, crying, "No, nolI won't,"

He stood with his head bent, making no movement. After a while he looked at her and said sadly, "I ... I did my best. I was only trying to help you. And ... and I must give you a message. His Lordship wished it. He said that if you consented, the after he made to you in the beginning would still hold good. You would have twenty-five shillings a week as long as the child remained with him." He half turned from her now; then looking at her across his shoulders, he said,

"There's not much time left. If ... if your sister isn't to come before the justice on Monday then His Lordship would have to set wheels in motion by tomorrow. If ... if you should change your mind you've only to come up to the House. The porter at either Lodge will admit you."

She watched him walking across the slippery earth towards the track.

His shoulders were stooped and his body conveyed a sadness to her that was reflected in herself a thousand fold

Bella cried in the night again, and Cissie got out of bed and dragged her away from the others and into the room, and there she shook her, while hissing at her, "Give over! Will you give over?" until Bella stopped and, her head hanging back on her shoulders, whimpered, "I'm frightened, our Cissie, I'm frightened." At this Cissie slowly lowered herself on to the chair and stared at her. Then reaching out, she took her hand and said, "Go on back to bed ... it'll be all right. I'll think of something." And Bella went back to bed somewhat comforted because it was the first time that Cissie had indicated that she would put things right, and like Joe, like them all, she believed that their Cissie could put things right. It was raining when at eleven o'clock in the morning she went out of the door with the child in her arms.

The drops hit her face like pellets of ice, the wind lifted the shawl from around her shoulders and whirled it over her head and would have taken it off but for the string round her neck. Over the top of the child's shawl she had put a sack to keep the rain from soaking through.

She made her way to the North Lodge because it was nearer. The porter let her through the gate without a word, and she did not speak to him.

She walked up the long grass drive between the high tangle of brushwood along the side of the wall and the wood itself. She passed the place where she had climbed the wall that far-off day, the climbing that was the cause of her walking towards the Hall now. She kept on straight through die park until, in the far distance, like a grey cloud on the horizon she saw the house. She passed keepers who made no attempt to stop her. She walked across a garden and up broad steps on to a gravel drive, then up more steps, and then she was standing under the shelter of a porch and before a great black oak door studded with brass nails.

Here she took the sack from off the child and dropped it on to the flags of the terrace. Then she pulled a handle attached to the wall and the bell clanged.

The man who opened the door to her was grandly dressed in brown knee-breeched livery. He stared at her for a moment, then stood aside.

He did not speak either, and she entered the Hall, thinking, I'm dreaming. It's like me dream of the white house; I'll wake up in a minute and everything will be all right The dream was emphasized by the grandeur of the place. There were life-sized iron men standing at each side of a great staircase; there were glass lights hanging from the ceiling and animals' heads sticking out from the walls, and beneath her feet was a carpet so thick that she couldn't hear herself walk. She was in a dim corridor now and staring at the back of the grandly dressed man. After he had knocked on a door, he opened it and stood aside to allow her to pass him. And now she was in a room that seemed to hold nothing but books. and him.

When the door closed behind her, he rose from his ii seat behind the desk and came towards her, and she wasn't to know that this was a most unusual procedure, nor the fact that he should turn a chair around for her to sit on. She wasn't to know that this lord, this great man, was finding this moment one of the most exciting in his life, nor yet that he felt in his heart a kind of sorrow for her.

Cunningham's reports on the girl had been of a person of extraordinary strength of character, loyalty, and kindliness, characteristics not usually found in one so young and placed as she was. He had wondered when listening to these reports, why it was that a girl of the common people should outshine his own blood in moral qualities.

In his position it was usual for him to speak first, especially when in contact with menials, but now he found it most difficult to open the conversation; also more difficult still to keep his eyes from the child in her arms. He thought afterwards, by way of excuse for himself, that the best and most glib people are reduced to inanities now and again, for he broke the silence by saying, "It's a wild day."

When she made no answer to this, simply con ting ued to stare at him, he turned from her and, going 'round the desk, sat down, hoping that from here he would feel more in charge of the situation. He took up a pen and wrote the date at the head of a piece of paper: Saturday, December 5th, 1833. Then, his eyes still cast down, he said, "I understand that your sister is in trouble?"

"Yes, Sir." She heard her voice coming as if from a long distance away.

"She was in the employ of Mr. Braithwaite of Pmewood Place, Westoe?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, you have no need to worry any further about the unfortunate business. I have already been in touch with Mr. Braithwaite and he is willing to drop the charge against her."

She did not say "Thank you, Sir" now; she just stared at him across the desk and held the child more tightly to her. Perhaps she held it too tightly for it began to whimper, and this brought His Lordship to his feet again and, coming slowly 'round the desk and looking down at her, he said, "May I see him?"

She pulled the fawn shawl back from the child's face, and then the under shawl and now he struggled to free his hands, and when he had pushed one up over the edge of the shawl he lay still, gazing at the face looking down on him; and then he smiled at it.

There was a slight constriction in His Lordship's throat. He moved his thin blue lips one over the other; then dragging his eyes from his grandson's face he looked at the mother and said gently, "You need have no more worry concerning him, except for his loss and I wish you to believe me when I say I understand how you feel about this matter.

But he is my grandson and it is my wish that he be brought up as such.

" He paused, then went on, " The agreement was that you should have an allowance of twenty-five shillings per week; this will be paid to you in advance every month starting as from today. Is there anything you would like to ask me? "

Although she wanted to say, "Will I be able to see him?" she shook her head, for she knew that this was a fruitless question; once they took him from her arms she would never see him again; he'd be in this fortress surrounded by scores of people, all making sure that she never saw him again.

Lord Fischel stared down at her. He had been prepared to ask her to put her cross to a paper that he had roughly drawn up, but he saw that she was in great distress and emphasizing such a finality might make her cause a scene, even attempt to go back on her word. The best thing to do was to get the child away from her. Once this was done, the business would be ended. He stretched out his hand and rang the bell, and when Hatton answered the summons he said, "Fetch Mrs. Hatton to me, please."

Mrs. Hatton came into the room within seconds and His Lordship with a small wave of his hand indicated that she should take the child.

When the woman stooped down, her hands outstretched, she paused, for the look in the girl's eyes was like a knife cutting into her, and when she put her hands under the child she had to give a slight tug before the girl released her hold on it.

As the housekeeper walked towards the door Cissie now asked in a whisper, "Can I have his shawl?" and His Lordship, again with a motion of his hand, indicated that the housekeeper should remove the shawl, thinking at the same time that it would be one less article to be burned.

Impatient now that she should be gone and that he could go and see the child, hold the child. His Lordship rang the bell again, saying, "You must have some refreshment before you return. Hatton will take you to the kitchen."

A moment later Hatton came into the room and received the order from his master; and Cissie, hugging the shawl to her, rose to her feet, but once she was standing upright she had the strange idea that she was about to sink into the earth. And then she knew she was going to do just that, for a great void appeared in the floor and as she fell forward into it she grabbed at His Lordship and tried to take him with her while shouting at him, "All for two lawn hankiesi ... You got him for two lawn hankies."

Two hours later, the general coach, used for luggage and such work, drew up on the path below the habitation, and Cunningham, getting out, assisted her down on to the muddy road; then with his hand on her elbow helped her over the fell and into the dwelling. After sitting her down he spoke to the tallest girl, saying, "Look after your sister. She needs to rest, she's not feeling well." Then patting Cissie on the shoulder, he stared at her in deep compassion for a moment before turning away.

When the door had closed on him the children gathered round her, the older ones not asking where Richard was, but Annie, with no inhibitions and not old enough to sense the tragedy, demanded, "Where's our Richard, our Cissie? Where've you left him?" And Cissie, the muscles of her white face twitching, looked down at Annie but didn't answer her; then after a further moment of gazing at her closed fist, she slowly opened it and there on her palm lay five golden sovereigns, and as they all stared at them in unbelievable wonder, for this was real money, a great, great deal of real money, her mind lifted her back to the day when Jimmy said, "I'll teach our Joe to set a trap an' you'll never want more."

Matthew heard about Cissie Brodie banding her baby over to the big house when Straker, the miller's carrier man, returned from delivering the weekly flour and oats to the Hall. He could barely wait to get William out of the mill on an errand so he could tell his master the gossip.

Matthew was loading sacks on to a low dray cart; he was walking from the scale bench to the cart, the sack on his shoulder, then at one and the same time he saw Rose pause just within the wheelhouse. She had a can in her hand full of steaming tea for Straker and William at their break, and she was brought to a stop, as he himself was, when he heard Straker say excitedly, "Place is agog with it. Took the child up yesterday mornin' an' handed it over, then, they tell me, fell flat on her face, dead out at His Lordship's

|| feet. They say it's been goin' on for months. The valet's been the go-between. His Lordship got the place all ready for the hairn weeks ago, then nothin' happened. Nobody knows as yet what brought it to a head. They say she seemed chary, but was only likely waitin' for him to raise the price. They say she went out with a handful and she was sent home in the coach. Think of that now. A drab from the fells being sent home in the coach."