"
"That's a bad thing," said Victor, gravely; "a very bad thing. A vast
estate is at stake. It would be a bad thing for every one if that
estate were to pass into strange hands--a very bad thing for old
servants, for with strangers all old links are broken. It would be a
still worse thing for every one if Sir Oswald should take it into his
head to marry."
The valet looked very grave.
"If you had said such a thing to me a fortnight ago, I should have told
you it was impossible," he said; "but now--."
"Now, what do you say?"
"Well, sir, you're a gentleman, and, of course, you can keep a secret;
so I'll tell you candidly that nothing my master could do would
surprise me after what I've seen within the last fortnight."
This was quite enough for Victor Carrington, who did not leave
Arlington Street until he had extorted from the valet the entire
history of the baronet's adoption of the ballad-singer.
* * * * *
CHAPTER VI.
AULD ROBIN GRAY.
A year and some months had passed, and the midsummer sunlight shone
upon the woods around Raynham Castle.
It was a grand pile of buildings, blackened by the darkening hand of
time. At one end Norman towers loomed, round and grim; at another
extremity the light tracery of a Gothic era was visible in window and
archway, turret and tower.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105