The house in which Gerald lived was that his parents had occupied. He had been loth to leave it until the arrival of his half-brother Leonard, when he had decided to discuss their future movements with him. He had had a sincere affection for Leonard, and relied greatly upon his judgment. Most of the servants had been dismissed; only two remained, a housekeeper and a maid, and these attended to the young gentleman's wants. They were in the habit of retiring early to bed; Gerald had a latchkey with which he let himself in when he came home late. Thus, in the present emergency, a certain privacy was ensured. Under no other circumstances than these would Gerald have dreamed of taking Emilia to his house, but he was driven to a course of which he inwardly disapproved. He had no time now to consider consequences; Emilia demanded all his attention. She was still unconscious when they arrived at the house, and he was compelled to ask the assistance of the driver to carry her in. This being accomplished, he paid the man liberally and dismissed him. They had entered without being observed; the housekeeper and the maid occupied rooms below, and Gerald supposed them to be both asleep at the time. The room into which Emilia had been carried was his favorite apartment, on the ground floor, and was somewhat daintily furnished. From a sideboard he took wine and biscuits, and from an inner room he brought towels and a basin of cold water. The fire in the grate had burned low, but he threw wood and coals on it, and it was soon in a bright blaze. Then he drew the sofa upon which Emilia was lying close to the fireplace, and stood debating with himself what he should do. Had the housekeeper been the only servant in the house he would have called her in to attend to Emilia; she had been many years in the service of his family, and he thought he could trust her; but he was sure he could not trust the maid, who was an inveterate chatterbox. Before he had decided what to do Emilia revived; struggling to her feet she gazed around in stupefaction. In as few words as possible Gerald explained what had occurred; she listened to him in silence, then sank upon the couch, and burst into a passion of tears. "Are you angry with me, Emilia?" he asked, in deep concern. "I could do nothing else. To have kept you in the streets any longer would have been your death. Listen to the rain; it is coming down harder than ever. Here at least you are safe for a few hours. The housekeeper is asleep down-stairs. I will call her up if you wish, but there is another servant who cannot be trusted, I fear." "If anyone sees me here I shall die of shame," said Emilia, in a low tone. "What will become of me--oh, what will become of me?"