There shall be no mystery about my
life. From the hour of my husband's death to the hour of his child's
birth, the friends of that lost husband shall know every act of my
existence. They shall see me day by day. The old servants of the family
shall attend me. I will live in the old house, surrounded by all who
knew and loved Sir Oswald. No vile plotters shall ever be able to say
that there was trick or artifice connected with the birth of that
child. If I live to protect and watch over it, that infant life shall
be guarded against every danger, and defended from every foe. And there
will be many foes ready to assail the inheritor of Raynham."
"Why so, my lady?"
"Because that young life, and my life, will stand between a villain and
a fortune. If I and my child were both to die, Reginald Eversleigh
would become possessor of the wealth to which he once was the
acknowledged heir. By the terms of Sir Oswald's will, he receives very
little in the present, but the future has many chances for him. If I
die childless, he will inherit the Raynham estates. If his two cousins,
the Dales, die without direct heirs, he will inherit ten thousand a
year."
"But that seems only a poor chance after all, my lady. There is no
reason why Sir Reginald Eversleigh should survive you or the two Mr.
Dales."
"There is no reason, except his own villany," answered Honoria,
thoughtfully.
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