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      When Mr. Havisham first told Mrs. Errol what he had come for, she turned very pale.

      “Oh!” she said; “will he have to be taken away from me? We love each other so much! He is such a happiness to me! He is all I have. I have tried to be a good mother to him.” And her sweet young voice trembled, and the tears rushed into her eyes.

      The lawyer cleared his throat.

      “I am obliged to tell you,” he said, “that the Earl of Dorincourt is not-is not very friendly toward you. He is an old man, and his prejudices[25] are very strong. His plan is that Lord Fauntleroy will be educated under his own supervision; that he will live with him. The Earl is attached to Dorincourt Castle, and spends a great deal of time there. He is a victim to inflammatory gout[26], and is not fond of London. Lord Fauntleroy will, therefore, be likely to live at Dorincourt. The Earl offers you a home Court Lodge, which is not very far from the castle. He also offers you a suitable income. Lord Fauntleroy will be allowed to visit you; the only stipulation[27] is that you will not visit him or enter the park gates. You see you will not be really separated from your son, and I assure you, madam, the terms are not so harsh. The advantage of such surroundings and education as Lord Fauntleroy will have, I am sure you must see, will be very great.”

      She went to the window and stood with her face turned away for a few moments, and he saw she was trying to calm herself down.

      “Captain Errol was very fond of Dorincourt,” she said at last. “He loved England, and everything English. It was always a grief to him that he was parted from his home. He would wish-I know he would wish that his son should know the beautiful old places, and be brought up in such a way as would be suitable to his future position.”

      Then she came back to the table and stood looking up at Mr. Havisham very gently.

      “My husband would wish it,” she said. “It will be best for my little boy. I know-I am sure the Earl would not be so unkind as to try to teach him not to love me; and I know-even if he tried-that my little boy is too much like his father to be harmed. He has a warm, faithful nature, and a true heart. So long as we may see each other, I will not suffer very much.”

      “Madam,” he said aloud, “I respect your consideration for your son. He will thank you for it when he is a man. I assure you Lord Fauntleroy will be most carefully guarded, and every effort will be used to guarantee his happiness.”

      “I hope,” said the tender little mother, in a rather broken voice, “that his grandfather will love Ceddie. The little boy has a very tender nature; and he has always been loved.”

      Mr. Havisham cleared his throat again. He could not quite imagine old Earl loving anyone very much. He knew, too, that if Ceddie were at all a credit to his name, his grandfather would be proud of him.

      “Lord Fauntleroy will be comfortable, I am sure,” he replied. “It was with a view to his happiness that the Earl desired that you should be near enough to him to see him often.”

      He did not think it would be discreet[28] to repeat the exact words the Earl had used, which were in fact neither polite nor friendly.

      When the door opened, Mr. Havisham actually hesitated for a moment before looking at Cedric. It would, perhaps, have seemed very strange to a great many people who knew him, if they could have known the interesting sensations that passed through Mr. Havisham when he looked down at the boy, who ran into his mother’s arms. He recognized in an instant that he was one of the finest and handsomest little fellows he had ever seen.

      Cedric did not knowhe was beingobserved[29], and he only behaved himself in his ordinary manner. He shook hands with Mr. Havisham in his friendly way when they were introduced to each other, and he answered all his questions with the unhesitating readiness[30] with which he answered Mr. Hobbs.

      That morning Mr. Havisham had quite a long conversation with Cedric. He asked Mrs. Errol to leave him and Cedric together. Mr. Havisham sat in an armchair on one side of the open window; on the other side was another still larger chair, and Cedric sat in that and looked at Mr. Havisham. There was a short silence after Mrs. Errol went out, and Cedric seemed to be studying Mr. Havisham, and Mr. Havisham was certainly studying Cedric. He could not make up his mind as to what an elderly gentleman should say to a little boy, who wore short knickerbockers[31] and red stockings on legs which were not long enough to hang over a big chair when he sat well back in it.

      But Cedric relieved him by suddenly beginning the conversation himself.

      “Do you know,” he said, “I don’t know what an earl is?”

      “Don’t you?” said Mr. Havisham.

      “No,” replied Ceddie. “And I think when a boy is going to be one, he need to know it. Don’t you?”

      “Well-yes,” answered Mr. Havisham.

      “Would you mind,” said Ceddie respectfully-“would you mind explaining it to me?

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