making way for him, and the old lord flew into one of those paroxysms of
rage which fell upon him more frequently in his later years.

"Now, look you," he said; "you need not trouble yourself any more about
Fording, nor think you will be so great a sufferer by my mismanagement.
It is by no means certain that I shall ever burden you with the place at
all."

Then the young man was angry in his turn. "Don't threaten me, sir," he
said sharply; "I am not a boy any longer to be cowed by rough words, so
keep your threats for others. You would disgrace the family and
disgrace yourself, if you left the property away from the title."

"Make your mind easy," said the other; "the property shall follow the
title. Get away, and let me hear no more, or you may find both left
away from you."

The words were lightly spoken, perhaps in mere petulance at being taken
to task by a boy, perhaps in the exasperating pangs of gout; but they
had a bitter sound, and sank deep into the heart of youth. The threat
of the other possible heirs was new, and yet was not new to him. It
seemed as if he had heard something of this before, though he could not
remember where; it seemed as if there had always been some ill-defined,
intangible suspicion in the air of Fording to make him doubt, since he
came to thinking years, whether the title ever really would be his.

Lord Blandamer remembered these things well, as he walked his horse
through the beech-leaves with Westray's letter in his breast-pocket. He
remembered how his grandfather's words had sent him about with a sad
face, and how his grandmother had guessed the reason. He wondered how
she had guessed it; but she too, perhaps, had heard these threats
before, and so came at the cause more easily. Yet when she had forced
his confidence she had little comfort to give.

He could see her now, a stately woman with cold blue eyes, still
handsome, though she was near sixty.

"Since we are speaking of this matter," she said with chilling
composure, "let us speak openly. I will tell you everything I know,
which is nothing. Your grandfather threatened me once, many years ago,
as he has threatened you now, and we have never forgotten nor forgiven."
She moved herself in her chair, and there came a little flush of red to
her cheek. "It was about the time of your father's birth; we had
quarrelled before, but this was our first serious quarrel, and the last.
Your father was different from me, you kno