“That trial will be a solemn farce, of course; nobody expects conviction for _her_.” “But, just Heaven, will the acquittal of the court remove the dishonor that will attach to herself and all her family?” “Of course it cannot restore her to the social position that she has forfeited.” “To think of Estelle Morelle in the prisoner’s dock!” exclaimed Mrs. Howard Kennaugh, who seemed to have an attraction toward the most painful and humiliating points of the case. “Yes! and then if she _should_ happen to be convicted,” suggested Lady Bannerman. “What would be done with her?” “She would be sent to the convict colonies. It is a transportable offense.” “Ugh! I suppose in that case her parents would never show their faces in England again.” “They will go abroad in _any_ case, of course. For my part, I think that inasmuch as the girl has been arraigned, she had just as well be condemned. It can make but little difference, and to ship her to Australia will end the difficulty, and be a sort of way of providing for her. Her parents are going East, and Lord Montressor has applied for an Ambassadorship to America.” “Mamma, dear, do you know I think _that must_ be a mistake? For I heard from Mrs. Burgess, the niece of the Bishop of Exeter, that his lordship intended to assert and stand upon the legality of his marriage, and to sustain his lady,” said Miss Bannerman, upon whom all eyes were now turned in astonishment at this annunciation. “Louise, my dear, we must not believe half that we hear.” “But, dearest mamma, his lordship really _did_ place her under the protection of Mr. Oldfield to await the event of the trial.” “Ridiculous, my love. His lordship had nothing to do with it; Mr. Oldfield took the poor lost creature into his house as an act of Christian charity. You know, my sweet, that a _clergyman_ can do any thing of that sort, which no one else could dare to do; because his holy cloth will ‘cover a multitude of sins’—_of others_.” “But, dearest mamma, Mrs. Burgess told me that it was _all_ his lordship’s doings, and that in placing her under the protection of Mr. Oldfield, he gave him and his family to understand that she must be addressed only by the name and title that he had bestowed upon her, and that he chose to consider her own.” “Perfectly preposterous, my darling girl! a peer of Lord Montressor’s exalted rank compromise himself with a questionable woman? Perfectly preposterous!” “But, mamma dear, he is said to be devotedly attached to her!” “Tut, tut, tut, my best Louisa, pray do not be absurd! Lord Montressor attached to _her_ in view of all that is past, and present, and to come? Preposterous! Perfectly preposterous!” And—“Preposterous! Perfectly preposterous!” was echoed by all the ladies present.