What business had he to be the only person, except Dr. Donaldson and Dixon, admitted to the awful secret, which she held shut up in the most dark and sacred recess of her heart--not daring to look at it, unless she invoked heavenly strength to bear the sight--that, some day soon, she should cry aloud for her mother, and no answer would come out of the blank, dumb darkness? Yet he knew all. She saw it in his pitying eyes. She heard it in his grave and tremulous voice. How reconcile those eyes, that voice, with the hard, reasoning, dry, merciless way in which he laid down axioms of trade, and serenely followed them out to their full consequences? The discord jarred upon her inexpressibly. The more because of the gathering woe of which she heard from Bessy. To be sure, Nicholas Higgins, the father, spoke differently. He had been appointed a committee-man, and said that he knew secrets of which the exoteric knew nothing. He said this more expressly and particularly, on the very day before Mrs. Thornton's dinner-party. 
What business had he to be admitted to the awful secret? She held it shut up in the most dark and sacred recess of her heart - not daring to look at it - the secret that, some day soon, she should cry aloud for her mother, and no answer would come out of the darkness.
Yet he knew all. She saw it in his pitying eyes. She heard it in his grave voice. How reconcile those eyes, that voice, with the hard, dry, merciless way in which he laid down axioms of trade, and their consequences? The discord jarred upon her - the more because of the gathering woe of which she heard from Bessy.
To be sure, Nicholas Higgins spoke differently. He had been appointed a committee-man, and said that he knew secrets. He said this expressly on the day before Mrs. Thornton's dinner-party,