'No doubt my poor Alice was unguarded. We know what a merry, happy,
childish girl may be, but I never heard that her conduct was even
censured while she remained at Baxley, though I find that Captain
Egremont used to join them in their walks, under pretext of playing
with the children. Then she was sent to Freshwater with the two
eldest children during Lady Adelaide's confinement, and there, most
unjustifiably, Captain Egremont continually visited them from his
yacht, and offered to take them out in it. Alice knew she ought not
to go without a married lady on board, and he brought a Mr. and Mrs.
Houghton to call, who were very kind and caressing to her and the
children, so that she thought all was right. Oh! Lady Kirkaldy, I
don't mean to defend her, I daresay she was very giddy and silly, she
reproaches herself, poor dear, but I do say that a wicked advantage
was taken of her innocence and ignorance. She says that she had
begun to grow a little uneasy at the way people looked when Captain
Egremont joined them on the beach; and the nurse, a German, said
something that she could not understand. On the 1st of July--yes--
but I have the date here--came a telegram to the hotel to have rooms
for Lady de Lyonnais and Mr. Egremont ready by the evening. The
whole place knew it, and some meddling person burst on Alice with the
news, roughly and coarsely given, that they were coming to call her
to account for her goings on. Captain Egremont found her crying in
the utmost terror, and--she really hardly knew what he said to her--
she thinks he offered to shelter her on board the Ninon, from Lady de
Lyonnais' first wrath while he and Mrs. Houghton explained matters;
but she cannot tell, for she lost her senses with fright, only knew
that he was kind and sweet to her in her distress, and thought only
of escaping. Well, I don't excuse her. Of course it was the most
terrible and fatal thing she could have done, and--' The good old