She was a beautiful woman, richly dressed; but
her face was distorted with passion. The young mother did not understand.
She did not know, then, that the woman was Mrs. Rutlidge--the true wife of
the father of her child. She knew that, afterward. The woman, in the
doorway lifted her hand as though to throw something, and the mother,
instinctively, bowed her head to shield her baby. Then something that
burned like fire struck her face and neck. She screamed in agony, and
fainted.
"The rest of the story does not matter, I think. The injured mother was
taken to the hospital. When she recovered, she learned that Mrs. Rutlidge
was dead--a suicide. Later, Mr. Rutlidge took the baby to raise as his
ward; telling the world that the child was the daughter of a relative who
had died at its birth. You must understand that when the disfigured mother
of the baby came to know the truth, she believed that it would be better
for the little one if the facts of its birth were never known. The wealthy
Mr. Rutlidge could give his ward every advantage of culture and social
position. The child would grow to womanhood with no stain upon her name.
Because she felt she owed her baby this, the only thing that she could
give her, the mother consented and disappeared.
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