," said Caranby gravely. "I cannot understand why Isabella
should accuse me--"

CHAPTER VI

A PERPLEXING CASE

The morning after his visit to Lord Caranby, Mallow was unexpectedly
called to Devonshire on account of his mother's illness. Mrs. Mallow
was a fretful hypochondriac, who always imagined herself worse than she
really was. Cuthbert had often been summoned to her dying bed, only to
find that she was alive and well. He expected that this summons would
be another false alarm, but being a dutiful son, he tore himself away
from town and took the mid-day express to Exeter. As he expected, Mrs.
Mallow was by no means so bad as she hinted in her wire, and Cuthbert
was vexed that she should have called him down, but she insisted that
he should remain, and, unwilling to cause her pain, he did so. It was
four days before he returned to London. But his visit to Exeter was
not without results, for he asked his mother about Caranby's romance.
Mrs. Mallow knew all about it, and highly disapproved of her
brother-in-law.

"He's crazy," she said vigorously, when the subject was brought up one
evening. "All his life he has been queer. Your father should have had
the title, Cuthbert!"

"Well, I shall have it some day," said her son soothingly. "Caranby is
not likely to marry."

"Yes, but I'll never be Lady Caranby," lamented Mrs. Mallow, who was
intensely selfish and egotistical. "And I should have adorned the
title. Such an old one as it is, too. But I'm glad that horrid Selina
Loach never became his wife. Even that Saul girl would have been
better."

"Don't speak evil of the dead, mother."

"I don't see why we should praise the bad dead," snapped Mrs. Mallow.
"I never liked either Isabella nor Selina. They were both horrid girls
and constantly quarrelling. They hardly ever spoke to one another, and
how you can contemplate marrying the daughter of Isabella, I really
don't know. Such a slight to me. But there, I've said all I had to
say on the subject."

To do her justice, Mrs. Mallow certainly had, and never ceased nagging
at Cuthbert to break the engagement. Had she known that Mrs. Octagon
had forbidden the marriage she would have rejoiced, but to save making
awkward explanations to a woman who would not hold her tongue, Cuthbert
said nothing about the breach.

"Did you like Miss Saul, mother?" he asked.

"I only saw her on the concert platform," said Mrs. Mallow, opening her
eyes, "gracio