_He_ is my only fear in connection with the jewels.' Her
dislike of Wynne had made her forget for the moment the effect her
words must have upon me.
'Mother,' I said, 'your persistent prejudice and injustice towards
this man astonish me. Wynne, though poor and degraded now, is a
gentleman born, and is no more likely to violate a tomb than the best
Aylwin that ever lived.'
I will not dwell upon the scene at the funeral. I saw my father's
coffin placed in the crypt that spread beneath the deserted church.
It was by the earnest wish of my father that he was buried in a
church already deserted because the grip of the resistless sea was
upon it. At this very time a very large slice of the cliff behind the
church was pronounced dangerous, and I perceived that new rails were
lying on the grass ready to be fixed up, further inland than ever.
VII
My mother retired to her room immediately on our return to the house.
My uncle stayed till just before dinner, and then left. I seemed to
be alone in a deserted house, so still were the servants, so quiet
seemed everything.
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