She had not the courage to speak to her mother; a deadweight of trouble, a restless spirit of apprehension, made her life one of passive endurance; she feared to have the unnatural conditions of their home openly recognised.

Very often her thoughts turned to the time when she had found refuge from herself in the daily occupation of teaching, and, had she dared, she would gladly have gone away once more as a governess.

But she could not bring herself to propose such a step.

To do so would necessitate explanations, and that was what she dreaded most of all.

Whole days, with the exception of meal-times, she spent in her own room, and there no one ever disturbed her.