heir great longing soon began to make opportunities for speech with each
other, thereby bringing trouble to Dorothy and deadly peril to John. Of
that I shall soon tell you.

During the period of John's service in Haddon Hall negotiations for
Dorothy's marriage with Lord Stanley were progressing slowly but surely.
Arrangements for the marriage settlement by the Stanleys, and for
Dorothy's dower to be given by Sir George, were matters that the King of
the Peak approached boldly as he would have met any other affair of
business. But the Earl of Derby, whose mind moved slowly, desiring that a
generous portion of the Vernon wealth should be transferred with Dorothy
to the Stanley holdings without the delay incident to Sir George's death,
put off signing the articles of marriage in his effort to augment the cash
payment. In truth, the great wealth which Dorothy would bring to the house
of Stanley was the earl's real reason for desiring her marriage with his
son. The earl was heavily in debt, and his estate stood in dire need of
help.

Sir George, though attracted by the high nobility of the house of Stanley,
did not relish the thought that the wealth he had accumulated by his own
efforts, and the Vernon estates which had come down to him through
centuries, should go to pay Lord Derby's debts. He therefore insisted that
Dorothy's dower should be her separate estate, and demanded that it should
remain untouched and untouchable by either of the Stanleys. That
arrangement did not suit my lord earl, and although the son since he had
seen Dorothy at Derby-town was eager to possess the beautiful girl, his
father did not share his ardor. Lawyers were called in who looked
expensively wise, but they accomplished the purpose for which they were
employed. An agreement of marriage was made and was drawn up on an
imposing piece of parchment, brave with ribbons, pompous with seals, and
fair in clerkly penmanship.

One day Sir George showed me the copy of the contract which had been
prepared for him. That evening at the cost of much labor he and I went
over the indenture word for word, and when we had finished Sir George
thought it was very good indeed. He seemed to think that all difficulties
in the way of the marriage were overcome when the agreement that lay
before us on the table had been achieved between him and the earl. I knew
Sir George's troubles had only begun; for I was aware of a fact which it
seemed impossible for him to learn