She had no other counsellor, at any rate, till Lady Milborough came, and the weight of the battle was too great for her own unaided spirit.

The letter had been written late at night, as was shown by the precision of the date, and had been brought to her early in the morning.

At first she had determined to say nothing about it to Nora, but she was not strong enough to maintain such a purpose.

She felt that she needed the poor consolation of discussing her wretchedness.

She first declared that she would not see Lady Milborough.