“My dear cousin Betty, there are lunatics endowed with a marvellous shrewdness to commit senseless villanies, and to put on a specious seeming. Depend upon it, my unfortunate brother-in-law’s wanderings at night were not solely spent in communings with the trees and brooks. Who knows what might be discovered if he were under proper restraint? And it is to you, the only relation I have, that I must turn for assistance in my most unhappy circumstances,” she added, wit a glance so full of sweet helplessness that no man could withstand it. “I am so glad you are here. You will be acting for me as well as for yourself in endeavouring to find your poor lovely child, and the first thing I would have done would be to separate Belamour and his black, put them under restraint, and interrogate them separately. You could easily get an order from a magistrate. But ah, here comes my woman. No more now. You will come to me this evening, and we can talk further on this matter. I shall have some company, and it will not be a regular rout, only a few card-tables, and a little dancing for the young people.” “Your ladyship must excuse me,” said Betty, “I have no dress to appear in, even if I had spirits for the company.” “Ah! my dear cousin, how do you think it is with my spirits? Yet I think it my duty not to allow myself to be moped, but to exert myself for the interest of my son. While as to dress, my woman can direct you to the milliner who would equip you in the last mode. What, still obstinate? Nay, then, Harry, I can take no excuse from you, and I may have been able to collect some intelligence from the servants.” Nothing remained but to take leave and walk home, the Major observing-- “Well, what think you of that, Betty?” “Think, sir?--I think it is not for my lady to talk of villains.” “She is in absolute error respecting Belamour; but then she has not seen him since his recovery. Women are prone to those fancies, and in her unprotected state, poor thing, no wonder she takes alarms.” “I should have thought her rather over-protected.” “Now, Betty, you need not take a leaf out of Mrs. Duckworth’s book, and begin to be censorious. You saw how relieved she was to have me, her own blood relation, to turn to, instead of that empty braggart of a fellow. Besides, a man does not bring his step-mother when there’s anything amiss.” There was something in this argument, and Betty held her peace, knowing that to censure my Lady only incited her father to defend her. For her own part her consternation was great, and she walked on in silence, only speaking again to acquiesce in her father’s observation that they must say nothing to Mr. Belamour of my Lady’s plans for his seclusion.