Chapter TwoThere was silence for a moment, then Wivina said in a different tone of voice,
“I am – sorry. I should not have spoken like – that. It was – wrong of me.”
“I think if one feels very deeply about anything,” Lord Cheriton replied, “one speaks the truth and that is what I would prefer to hear.”
Again there was silence, then Wivina said,
“I know that the late Lord Cheriton was a very hard, cruel man. Mrs. Briggs has told me how his son, John, ran away and no one ever heard of him again – but I suppose there are excuses for him.”
“I don’t know what they could be,” Lord Cheriton said dryly.
“Papa said that men were cruel to others when they themselves had suffered and were still suffering. He always tried to understand Lord Cheriton’s behaviour and to help him.”
“And did he suc
