"I have been sadly broken, Mr. Pendril, by what has happened in this
house," she said, "or I should have borne what you have told me better
than I have borne it to-day. Will you let me ask one question before
you go on? My heart aches for the children of my love--more than ever my
children now. Is there no hope for their future? Are they left with no
prospect but poverty before them?"
The lawyer hesitated before he answered the question.
"They are left dependent," he said, at last, "on the justice and the
mercy of a stranger."
"Through the misfortune of their birth?"
"Through the misfortunes which have followed the marriage of their
parents."
With that startling answer he rose, took up the will from the floor, and
restored it to its former position on the table between them.
"I can only place the truth before you," he resumed, "in one plain
form of words. The marriage has destroyed this will, and has left Mr.
Vanstone's daughters dependent on their uncle."
As he spoke, the breeze stirred again among the shrubs under the window.
"On their uncle?" repeated Miss Garth. She considered for a moment, and
laid her hand suddenly on Mr.
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