12 The Other Boy

CHAPTER 12 The Other Boy Everyone in the village and beyond had heard what happened to poor little Lord Fauntleroy. He was no longer Lord Fauntleroy, now that the other boy had been found. No one could stop talking about it. At first, when the earl explained everything to Cedric, the little boy was very troubled. "It makes me feel very strange," he told his grandfather. "Very strange."

The earl felt strange as well—stranger than he'd ever felt in his life. "Will they take Dearest's house away from her—and her carriage?" asked Cedric in a rather unsteady voice. "No!" the earl exclaimed. "They can take nothing from her." Cedric looked at his grandfather with large, sad eyes. "The other boy," he said, his voice still shaking, "he will have to—to be your boy now—as I was—won't he?" "No!" answered the earl. He said it so loudly that Cedric jumped. "No?" Cedric said, confused. "Won't he? I thought—" He stood up. "Shall I be your boy, even if I'm not going to be an earl?" he asked. "Shall I be your boy, just as I was before?" His face was flushed, nervous about the answer.

"My boy!" the earl said, his voice now shaking. "Yes, you'll be my boy as long as I live. And by George, sometimes I feel as if you were the only boy I ever had." "Do you?" Cedric asked. "Well then, I don't care whether I am an earl or not. I thought—you see, I thought the one who was going to be the earl would have to be your boy, too, and—and I couldn't be. That was what made me feel so strange." The earl put a hand on Cedric's shoulder. "They shall take nothing from you. Not if I can help it," he said. The earl hadn't realized how deep his fondness and pride in the boy had grown— until now. Looking at Cedric, it seemed impossible to the earl—impossible—to give up on the idea of him being Lord Fauntleroy. The earl had his heart set on it, and he would not give up without a fight.

A few days later, the lady who said she was the mother of the new Lord Fauntleroy visited Dorincourt Castle. The earl refused to see her. Even the servants who saw her agreed that she was no "lady"—not the way Mrs. Errol was. The earl didn't want to speak with her, but he knew he would have to sometime. Finally he went to see her at the Dorincourt Arms inn, where she was staying. When she saw the old earl enter the room, she flew at him in a rage. She called him terrible names and said terrible things. She demanded all sorts of things from him— money for her son, and money for herself. She seemed to care only about the money she thought she was owed. The earl simply stood there and let her scream. When she stopped, he said, "You say you are my eldest son's wife. If that is true,

then the law is on your side and your boy is Lord Fauntleroy. But we will learn the truth. If what you say is true, I will provide for you. But I want to see nothing of you or the child for as long as I live. The castle will have enough of you after my death." And then he turned his back on her and left. A few days later, Mrs. Errol received a visitor. The maid looked excited. "It's the earl himself, ma'am," she said, almost trembling. When Mrs. Errol entered the drawing room, she found a very tall, majestic-looking man waiting for her. He had a handsome, grim old face. "Mrs. Errol, I believe?" he said. "Yes," she replied. "I am the Earl of Dorincourt," he said. He paused for a moment to look her over. "The

boy looks very much like you." "It has been often said so, my lord," she answered. "But I like to think that he looks like his father." Her manner was direct, yet still sweet. She did not seem upset by the earl's sudden visit. "Do you know why I have come here?" he asked. "I have seen Mr. Havisham," said Mrs. Errol. "He has told me about the other boy—" "That is what I have come to talk to you