'What is it?' she asked. 'I know there is something that you have to say which is not easy for you to speak. Had it been good news, it would have come forth already.' 'Really the letter I have received is to you or about you. But as you cannot read, it is addressed to me.' 'Then let me hear it at once.' 'That is not so easy done. In truth, my dear, this letter is not pleasant reading. Mrs. Tomkin-Jones informs me――and you――that Winefred has met her father.' 'I am not sorry for that.' 'Her father is vastly taken with her, and walks her out, and shows her the sights, and goes with her to shops and buys sundry pretty things that he gives to her.' 'That is as it should be.' 'If that were all, I should not be in such a fluster over it,' said Mrs. Jose, her pleasant face expressing concern. 'What is there more?' 'Her father has taken a pride in his child, and a liking to her, so that he will not part with her any more.' Jane was silent. Shadows passed over her face, like those that darken the sea. She stood meditating, with her knitting-pin to her lips. 'He may see her a bit,' she said; then, after a pause, 'he may see a good deal of her.' 'Ay.' Mrs. Jose looked up with distress into the clouded face of the mother. 'But what if he purposed taking her altogether away from you?' 'He cannot do that! He shall not do that!' almost screamed the mother, and then clenched her teeth and stood glaring at her visitor. Presently she said fiercely, 'Bring out that letter and read me every word. Pass none over. I must hear all.' Mrs. Jose looked from side to side in embarrassment. 'The letter!' said Jane imperiously, and pressed the end of the knitting-pin on the table. The farmer's wife was compelled to draw the epistle from her pocket and unfold it upon the board. She knew that Jane was illiterate, and it was her intention to soften down as much as possible the harsh expressions, but she could not blunt the edge of the cutting facts. 'Begin with the first words,' said Jane, and pointed with her knitting-pin. 'These are to me,' said Mrs. Jose. 'They are from Mrs. Tomkin-Jones about my chicken I sent her. She is a sort of cousin, and she begins affable enough, seeing the difference in our station in life, and all these first lines contain nothing further than what I have already told you, that Winefred has met her father, and that he is mightily taken with her.' 'How far does that go?' asked Jane, with the pin on the letter. 'To that point――there you have it――"pretty things." It is as I told you. He has bought them for her.' 'Go on from there. What is that word?' 'Then Mrs. Tomkin-Jones continues, "I think he will not be satisfied until he has removed her entirely."' 'From what place? From your cousin's?' 'No, not exactly so. From――――' She hesitated. 'Show me the words. I can count the letters if I cannot read them. What is that little word followed by a long one?' '"That creature."' 'What does she mean by "that creature"?'