nsible talking from me could shake her of: that she would sooner see her girl live low but honest, than give her back to the world of money she come from. She meant to start for France so soon as her strength was all back—and I''ll tell you this now, I thought she was a fool; but I would have cut my own arm to help her, she was that simple and good.''
She sighs. ''But it''s the simple and the good that are meant to suffer in this world—ain''t it, though! She kept very weak, and her baby hardly grew. Still she talked, all the time, of France, it was all she thought of; until one night, I was putting her into her bed when there comes a knocking on our kitchen door. It''s the woman, from the Borough, what first put her on to me: I see her face, and know there''s trouble. There is. What do you think? The lady''s pa and brother have tracked her down after all. "They''re coming," says the woman. "Lord help me, I never meant to tell them where you was; but the brother had a cane, and whipped me." She shows me her back, and it''s black. "They''ve gone for a coach," she says, "and a bully to help them. I should say you''ve an hour. Get your lady out now, if she means to go. Try to hide her and they''ll pull your house apart!"
''Well! The poor lady had followed me down and heard it all, and started shrieking. "Oh, I''m done for!" she said. "Oh, if I might only have got to France!"—but the trip downstairs had half-killed her, she was so weak. "They''ll take my baby!" she said. "They''ll take her and make her theirs! They''ll put her in their great house, they might as well lock her into a tomb! They''ll take her, and turn her heart against me—oh! and I haven''t even named her! I haven''t even named her!" That''s all she would say. "I haven''t even named her!"—"Name her now, then!" I said, just to make her be quiet. "Name her quick, while you still got the chance." "I will!" she said.