away;
thankfulness that he was indeed spared, again filled her heart, and the
bright smile returned. He accounted for not seeking them earlier by the
fact that, while they remained at Richmond, his uncle, whose health from
long-continued suffering was but weakly established, could not bear him
out of his sight, and that he had entreated him not to leave him till
they returned to Oakwood. This, young Fortescue afterwards discovered,
was to give Lord Delmont time for the gratification of his wishes,
which, from the time he had heard the line of Delmont was extinct, had
occupied his mind. Many of his father's old friends recognised him at
once. His father's and his sister's friends were eager to see and pay
him every attention in their power. He found himself ever a welcome and
a courted guest, and happiness, so long a stranger from his breast, now
faded not again. To adopt Edward as his son, to leave him heir to his
title and estate, was now, as it had been from the first moment he
recognised his nephew, the dearest wish of his heart, "if it were only
to fulfil Sir George Wilmot's prophecy," he jestingly told the old
Admiral, who, with Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, warmly seconded his wishes.
The necessary formula met with no opposition, and the same day that gave
to Edward his promotion of captain, informed him of the secretly-formed
and secretly-acted-upon desire of his uncle.

In the time of Edward's grandfather, the Delmont estates, as some of our
readers may remember, were, from the carelessness of stewards and the
complete negligence of their lord, in such an embarrassed state, as
barely to return a sufficient income for the expenses of Lord Delmont's
establishment. Affairs, however, were not in a worse state than that a
little energy and foresight might remedy. The guardian of Henry Manvers,
who, as we know already, became Lord Delmont when only three years old,
had acted his part with so much straightforwardness and trust, that when
Manvers came of age he found his estates in such a thriving condition,
that he was a very much richer nobleman than many of his predecessors
had been. Well able to discern true merit, and grateful for the
services already rendered, his guardian, by his earnest entreaty,
remained his agent during his residence with his mother and sister in
Switzerland. There, living very much within his income, his fortune
accumulated, and by his early death it fell to the Crown, from which
Lord Delmont, on hi