The whole episode would be intensely comical were it not so pathetic. As might have been expected, Lady Byron eventually suffered far more than the woman she had so cruelly wounded. Augusta seems coolly to suggest that her brother might 'out of revenge' (because his sister acted virtuously?) publish to the world his incestuous intercourse with her! Could anyone in his senses believe such nonsense? Augusta hints that then Lady Byron would be able to procure a divorce; and, as Lady Noel was still alive, Byron would not be able to participate in that lady's fortune at her death. The words, 'There seem so many reasons why he should for his own sake abstain _for the present_ from gratifying his revenge ... it would surely be ruin to all his prospects,' are plain enough. Even if there had been anything to disclose, Byron would never have wounded that sister who stood at his side at the darkest hour of his life, who had sacrificed herself in order to screen his love for Mary Chaworth, and who was his sole rock of refuge in this stormy world. But it was necessary to show Lady Byron that she was standing on the brink 'of a precipice.' 'On the subject of the mortgage,' writes Augusta, 'I mean to decline that wholly; and pray do me the justice to believe that one thought of the interests of my children, as far as _that_ channel is concerned, never crosses my mind. I have entreated--I believe more than once--that the will might be altered. [Oh, Augusta!] But if it is not--as far as I understand the matter--there is not the slightest probability of their ever deriving any benefit. Whatever my feelings, dear A., I assure you, never in my life have I looked to advantage of _that_ sort. I do not mean that I have any merit in not doing it--but that I have no inclination, therefore nothing to struggle with. I trust my babes to Providence, and, provided they are _good_, I think, perhaps, _too little_ of the rest.' It is plain that Augusta was getting nervous about her brother's attachment to the Guiccioli, a liaison which might end in trouble; and if that lady was avaricious (which she was not) Byron might be induced to alter his will (made in 1815), by which he left all _his_ share in the property to Augusta's children. With a mother's keen eye to their ultimate advantage, she tried hard to make their position secure, so that, in the event of Byron changing his mind, Lady Byron might make suitable provision for them. It was a prize worth playing for, and she played the game for all it was worth. 'Leaving her babes to Providence' was just the kind of sentiment most likely to appeal to Lady Byron who did, in a measure, respond to Augusta's hints. In a letter (December 23, 1819) Lady Byron writes: