her as soon as she is able to leave her
room?"

"Yes, of course," said Stafford, very gravely and wearily.

There was a knock at the door, and the footman, in his mourning livery,
came in and said, solemnly:

"Mr. Falconer would like to know if you will see him, my lord?"

A frown crossed Stafford's pale face at the "my lord." It sounded
strange and mockingly in his ears.

"I will come at once," he said. "Come with me, Howard."

They went to the library, and the three men who were sitting there
before a mass of papers rose to receive him; Falconer with a face as if
it were carved out of wood; Murray with anxious brow; the lawyer with a
grave and solemn countenance, and sharp, alert eyes. Stafford waved
them to their seats and took a chair at the table, and Falconer, with a
straight underlip, and eyes half concealed by their thick lids, spoke
for the others.

"Very sorry we cannot leave you in peace for a little longer, Lord
Highcliffe," he said. "But I am quite sure you would have blamed us had
we done so. We have been going into your father's affairs, and I very
much regret that we cannot give you a favourable report of them. As you
know the will, which Mr. Chaffinch," he nodded at the lawyer, "read
this morning, leaves you everything, and names Mr. Chaffinch and Mr.
Murray here executors. That's all very proper and satisfactory as it
goes, but, unfortunately, we find that there is no estate." Murray, the
secretary, passed his hand over his wrinkled forehead and sighed, as if
he himself had made away with the vast sum of money, and the lawyer
frowned and shuffled the papers before him. Stafford sat with his hands
clasped on the table, his eyes fixed on Falconer's impassive face.

"Your father's immense fortune was wholly embarked in this last
business," continued Mr. Falconer; "he believed in it and staked
everything on it. A very large number of the shares were held by him.
They are down to nothing to-day; it is very unlikely that they will
recover; it is possible that they never may; and if they should it
would be too late, for the shares your father held will, of course, go
to meet the claims--and they are heavy--on the estate. I don't know
whether I make myself understood: I am aware that you are not a
business man."

Stafford inclined his head.

"My father's debts--will they not be paid, will there not be
sufficient?" he asked, in a dry voice.

Mr. Falconer pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I'm