When Maria arrived in town, she drove to the hotel already fixed on.  But she could not sit still—­her child was ever before her; and all that had passed during her confinement, appeared to be a dream.  She went to the house in the suburbs, where, as she now discovered, her babe had been sent.  The moment she entered, her heart grew sick; but she wondered not that it had proved its grave.  She made the necessary enquiries, and the church-yard was pointed out, in which it rested under a turf.  A little frock which the nurse’s child wore (Maria had made it herself) caught her eye.  The nurse was glad to sell it for half-a-guinea, and Maria hastened away with the relic, and, reentering the hackney-coach which waited for her, gazed on it, till she reached her hotel.

She then waited on the attorney who had made her uncle’s will, and explained to him her situation.  He readily advanced her some of the money which still remained in his hands, and promised to take the whole of the case into consideration.  Maria only wished to be permitted to remain in quiet—­She found that several bills, apparently with her signature, had been presented to her agent, nor was she for a moment at a loss to guess by whom they had been forged; yet, equally averse to threaten or intreat, she requested her friend [the solicitor] to call on Mr. Venables.  He was not to be found at home; but at length his agent, the attorney, offered a conditional promise to Maria, to leave her in peace, as long as she behaved with propriety, if she would give up the notes.  Maria inconsiderately consented—­Darnford was arrived, and she wished to be only alive to love; she wished to forget the anguish she felt whenever she thought of her child.

They took a ready furnished lodging together, for she was above disguise; Jemima insisting on being considered as her house-keeper, and to receive the customary stipend.  On no other terms would she remain with her friend.

Darnford was indefatigable in tracing the mysterious circumstances of his confinement.  The cause was simply, that a relation, a very distant one, to whom he was heir, had died intestate, leaving a considerable fortune.  On the news of Darnford’s arrival [in England, a person, intrusted with the management of the property, and who had the writings in his possession, determining, by one bold stroke, to strip Darnford of the succession,] had planned his confinement; and [as soon as he had taken the measures he judged most conducive to his object, this ruffian, together with his instrument,] the keeper of the private mad-house, left the kingdom.  Darnford, who still pursued his enquiries, at last discovered that they had fixed their place of refuge at Paris.

Maria and he determined therefore, with the faithful Jemima, to visit that metropolis, and accordingly were preparing for the journey, when they were informed that Mr. Venables had commenced an action against Darnford for seduction and adultery.  The indignation Maria felt cannot be explained; she repented of the forbearance she had exercised in giving up the notes.  Darnford could not put off his journey, without risking the loss of his property:  Maria therefore furnished him with money for his expedition; and determined to remain in London till the termination of this affair.