CHAPTER XIV.

DRUMMOND THE ELDER.

DRUMMOND left Lord Festiniog's very early, and on getting to his study, was extremely surprised to find his son there with his head. buried in his hands before the fire. He at once saw that something was wrong, and he approached George Drummond and put his hand on his shoulder.

'What is the matter, my boy?' he asked. 'What has Lady Rhyader said which has given you a headache ? '

'Now, you save me the trouble of coming to the point,' said George Drummond. 'She

has been saying things which I do not understand.'

'Well, tell me what she has said; if you cannot trust me, who can you trust?'

Ay! but she says that you are the last man to be trusted; what am I to do if she

says

that again?'

Tell her that she lies,' said Drummond,

very quietly. No, you can't do that. But what has she been saying about me?'

Well, I hardly like to tell you, father. We got in hot dispute over a certain matter, and lost our tempers. Then she said that you were the person who had put Mrs. Arnaud in possession of the facts of her marriage, and that you had set her on Lord Festiniog.'

6

She is a clever little woman,' said Drummond, with an expression of admiration. She is perfectly right.'

'Father, did you do that?'

You inherit all my

'Certainly, my son. property, and I have no idea of your marrying into a family with the curse of illegitimacy on it. You will marry Heloise, I suppose; at least, from what the boy Barri tells me, I should think it probable. If you

decide on her, I wish her to be received into society. Barri tells me that you are au mieux with her, go on and prosper.'

The transparency of this falsehood never
He could not

struck George Drummond.

possibly have known that George would ever see Heloise, when he told Mrs. Arnaud the truth; therefore, how could he have betrayed his client for such a purpose? George never saw that until afterwards.

I am in love with her, I confess, father, but she will never marry me. Lady Rhyader told me all about it to-night; Heloise

knew my fellow lodger D'Arcy, in Paris, most intimately. She has followed him here.' That is an outrageous untruth,' said Drummond. What else did Lady Rhyader say?'

She said that the whole thing between them was notorious in Paris, and that Madame Mantalent had in reality only come over to bring him to book.'

'Now listen to me, George,' said the elder Drummond. Lady Rhyader is as incapable of telling lies intentionally as you are, but she believes them. All this story about D'Arcy is false, from beginning to end, by whom told I do not know. The whole thing is a fiction. I have got the key to it, but I don't know the whole truth. I will go and see the old woman to-morrow, and get it out of her. Now look here, boy, I have watched Mrs. Arnaud all her life, and

I know everything about her and her relations. I tell you that there never was anything in the world between D'Arcy and Heloise. Will that satisfy you?'

'Well, no. I am afraid that there is something between them.'

'I will look into that for you. I fancy that you are wrong. I conceive that there is a confidence between them, but that it is about some other person I don't know. I will get it out of the old woman to-morrow.' "What, Madame Mantalent?' said George she is a difficult customer, I fancy.'

how much money she owes me; she will

cast her old wig on the fire.'

'Owe you money?'

'Yes, boy. Like all Frenchwomen, she

speculated under the Empire, and I, having