A taxi bore him swiftly to the neat little ivy-covered cottage at Petersham, where he received a hearty welcome from his old nurse, a comely old woman verging upon her seventieth year, but hale and vigorous for her age. To her he did not explain the actual truth, but simply stated that circumstances had suddenly arisen which rendered necessary the severing of his connection with Mr. Morrice. The good, simple old soul said little, but she was very upset at the news. She knew very well that the great financier had treated him like a son, and that this sudden separation meant the ruin of his bright prospects. “And Miss Rosabelle?” she inquired anxiously. Hitherto he had kept few secrets from the faithful and sympathetic old woman, who had long ago learned the history of his love affair. “She will come and see me, dear old nurse, that is to say, if her uncle does not expressly forbid her.” Mrs. Hart, such was the name of this faithful old servant, made no comment upon this significant remark. It crossed her mind that it was more than probable Richard’s departure had been caused by this very love-affair; that fond as he was of him, the wealthy financier had resented his attentions to his niece, who, in the course of time, would be a considerable heiress. It may be observed in passing that the same opinion was held in the servants’ hall at Deanery Street, where the young man’s sudden exit had naturally aroused a tremendous amount of interest. It had also occurred to Morrice, desirous of keeping the true facts to himself, more perhaps from respect for the dead than tenderness to the living, that he might get his wife to give some hints which would produce the same impression amongst their acquaintances. True to her promise, in a few days Rosabelle arrived at the ivy-covered cottage, having warned her lover, in a letter received by the first post in the morning, of her visit. He noticed that she drove up in a taxi, not, as was usual, in one of her uncle’s cars. He was, of course, overwhelmed with joy at seeing her so soon, but he was very anxious that the fidelity to himself should not entail disastrous consequences to her own fortunes. So the first question he asked was whether Mr. Morrice knew of her visit. “Everything is straight and above-board, dear Dick,” was the girl’s answer. “I had a long talk with him yesterday morning at his early breakfast. I got up early myself in order to seize a chance of finding him alone. He seemed very sad and preoccupied, but he was not as stern and harsh as on that dreadful day. I told him a lot of things as they came into my head, how dearly we loved each other, how we had fallen in love from the first day we met—that no matter if all the world turned against you, I should still be faithful, that my one great object was that you should take steps to get yourself cleared and discover the real criminal.”