The scent of the seaweed had come to her, too; and quite suddenly she had understood that they were to leave it all. Her father had gone on speaking; she had felt vaguely sorry for him, as she listened to his halting speech and saw the strained look on his face. But in those first minutes nothing was of moment, nothing was real, save the crushing blow that they were to leave their home; that they were to go away; that strangers were to live in it. But presently she realised that he was trying to prepare them for some further bad news. She had smiled at his thinking it necessary to prepare them; nothing mattered now. Denis had had the same feeling. He had broken into his father’s speech abruptly, roughly:— "Tell us what it is. What does it matter, anyway?" But Mr. O’Brien had gone on skirting the subject, preparing them. "I have been anxious for months about those mine shares. They have gone down and down, and now they have ceased to pay any dividends at all." He had said it before, had explained that it was because of these shares that they must let their home. Denis said, surprised, "The Rêve d’or shares?" "Why, yes! Oh, you mean I’ve told you that already? But I thought they were such a good investment—" he broke off, and walked quickly to the window. "Your mother isn’t getting her strength back," he said suddenly. They realised at once that there were still things that mattered. He went on quickly: "You needn’t be anxious. Oh, no! But Dr. O’Donovan—" he broke off, and started afresh. "You know that, as a young man, I didn’t expect to come into this—" he waved his hand impatiently around. There was an air about him now of wanting to get it over as quickly as possible; an irritated impatience made his words hurried. "Well, you know, I studied medicine. I was a qualified doctor. It’s all settled. I’ve got the post. There’s no other way. Dr. O’Donovan says your mother must have a sea voyage. We can’t afford it. I’ve got the post of surgeon on the _Albany_—starts at end of October for Australia—sailing ship." They knew it all at last. Thinking it over now, Nell was struck with the difference there had been from his usual manner of speaking. She knew now what it had cost him to tell them. Then she had been too absorbed in her horror to think much of anything beyond the news he had told them.