"But Mrs. Catherine--she at least cannot be ignorant, cannot have forgotten: who could forget this? and my mother was her friend!" "The friendship has descended, I think," said Mrs. Ross, with a sneer, "as you seem to imagine feuds should. I suppose you think this girl's brother, if she has one, would be quite doing his duty if he demanded satisfaction from Lewis, for a thing which happened when the poor boy was a mere infant? But be not afraid, most tender and scrupulous sister. People have better sense in _these_ days." Anne Ross turned away, grieved and silenced; her conversations with her step-mother too often terminated so: and there was a long pause. At last she said, timidly, as if desirous, and yet afraid of asking further: "And my father never knew how he died?" Mrs. Ross glanced hurriedly at the door: "He did not die." Anne started violently. "Norman, my brother? I beseech you to tell me, mother, is he not dead?" "Ah, there is Duncan back, from Portoran," said Mrs. Ross, rising. "Letters from Lewis, no doubt. How slow they are!" And she rang the bell vehemently. The summons brought in a maid, struggling with the buckle of Duncan's letter-bag, which was opened at length, and gave to Mrs. Ross's delighted eyes the expected letters from her only son: but Anne sat apart, shivering and trembling with a great dread--a secret, most sad and terrible; a tale of dishonor, and crime, and misery, such as might chill the very heart to hear. "And there's a letter from the Tower, Miss Anne," said the maid, giving her a note. "Duncan got it at the Brig, from Johnnie Halflin, and Johnnie was to wait, till Duncan got back with the answer, if there was to be any." "There is no answer, May," said Anne, glancing over the brief epistle; and May withdrew reluctantly, having obtained no news of Maister Lewis, or his wanderings, wherewith to satisfy her expectant audience in the kitchen. The letter of Lewis was a long one, and Anne had time to travel listlessly again and again over the angular and decided characters of her ancient friend.