This brought the girls, who could doubt, clinging round her, hanging about her. Their soft touch, their tender faces went to her heart. No woman who is good for anything, not even the jealous mother of an only son, defending him from all feminine wolves, can resist the contact of innocent girls--creatures of her own kind. It was a novel pleasure to Mrs Underwood, who never had a daughter, and had always been an exclusively devoted parent, absorbed in her son. She put one arm round each and kissed them again, this time in all truth and tenderness, and with her heart full of natural feeling. “Will she have heard of it yet?” she said in a tone of tender awe. “Oh, not for nearly a week yet,” the girls cried. And Mrs Underwood wept in sympathy. “Poor dear! Oh, God help her, poor dear! I know what it is myself; but I was with him till the last moment. She will think if she had been here it would never have happened. Oh, God help her, poor dear! Then,” she added a minute after, as if this had been a reason, “you must get your boxes ready and come with me at once, my poor children; I cannot leave you here. I tell you I don’t know whether I shall be glad or sorry, if it is settled that you are Leonard Crosthwaite’s children. Sorry, I suppose, because I shall lose my money; but now that I know you I should be almost as sorry to lose you.” This, though it was sudden, was real and true; for the kind woman felt that she had done them injustice. They were not dangerous adventuresses, hunting Geoff, but good girls, breaking their hearts for their mother, and counting the days till she should hear that terrible news. Mrs Underwood jumped into enthusiasm for them because she had been so much afraid of them before. “You shall not lose either us or the money,” said Grace. “We had resolved before Mr Geoffrey was here, that we should do nothing more and think nothing more about it. If papa had meant us to do anything he would have said so. We made up our minds to this--this morning, before Mr Geoffrey was here.” “My dears!” said Mrs Underwood, bewildered. She had no head for business, and she could not understand more than one thing at a time. She withdrew her arm a little and said doubtfully, “Then Geoffrey has been here?” “He came--in the most generous, noble way. I am so glad, I am so thankful,” cried Grace, “and so is Milly--that we had quite made up our minds before.”