Mark. I don't think I could sleep, even if you had half a dozen
of your detective friends posted round the house."

"Still I suppose we shall have a chance of seeing them?" Millicent said.

"Certainly. I can make an appointment with Philip Cotter for you to see
them at the bank; or if I take them to a jeweler to value, you could
see them there. But I should think that the bank would be the best. I am
sure that Cotter would put his room at your disposal, and, of course,
if you would like to have some of them for yourself you could select
any you liked, but I expect that they won't look much in their present
settings; the Indian jewelers have not the knack of setting off gems.
However, there is no hurry about them one way or another. The money,
I have told Cotter's father, shall, for the present, remain as it
is invested; it is all in the Funds, Cotter said, for although the
instructions were that it was to be put into good securities, he did
not feel justified under the peculiar circumstances in going outside
Government stock. Mr. Prendergast is quite of opinion that it would be
better to make no change until you come of age. I did not know whether
you would wait till then, for some purpose or other you might want to
use some of it."

Millicent shrugged her shoulders.

"I think I would much rather have had just the money I had before, Mark;
all this will be a great nuisance, I am sure. I think there ought to be
a law against women having more than 20,000 pounds, whether in money or
in land."

Mark laughed.

"It would be a bad thing for spendthrift young noblemen, Millicent. How
are they to pay off their debts and mortgages if there were no heiresses
ready to do so in exchange for a title?"

"It would be a good thing for them, I consider," the girl said
indignantly. "In the first place, they would not impoverish themselves
if they knew that there was no way of building up their fortune again,
and in the next place, if they did ruin themselves they would have to
either set to work to earn an honest living or blow out their brains,
if they have any to blow out. I can assure you that I don't feel at all
exultant at getting all this money, and I think that my father was quite
right in wishing that I should know nothing about it until I married;
but, on the other hand, I am heartily glad, more glad than I can say,
Mark, that you have come into your share."

"I am glad for one reason, Millicent; that is, that this mus