Would he have done that, with that violence of passion, if they were a pretence?
Would he have ranged them with his desolate heart and soul, his wasted life, his peace and his despair?
The very first sacrifice that he represented himself as making for her, was his fidelity to his dear boy after death.
Surely these facts were strong against a fancy that scarcely dared to hint itself.

And yet he was so terrible a man! In short, the poor girl (for what could she know of the criminal intellect, which its own professed students perpetually misread, because they persist in trying to reconcile it with the average intellect of average men, instead of identifying it as a horrible wonder apart) could get by no road to any other conclusion than that he _was_ a terrible man, and must be fled from.
She had been Helena's stay and comfort during the whole time.

She had constantly assured her of her full belief in her brother's innocence, and of her sympathy with him in his misery.

But she had never seen him since the disappearance, nor had Helena ever spoken one word of his avowal to Mr.Crisparkle in regard of Rosa, though as a part of the interest of the case it was well known far and wide.

He was Helena's unfortunate brother, to her, and nothing more.