ll be a delight to me to watch the men at work; I
should never grow tired of it."

"I quite understand, my dear," he said. "I honour you for that feeling.
Well, then, I shall engage an architect of repute, the first in his
profession"--he rubbed his hands with an air of enjoyment--"and he
shall restore the old place, with a respect and reverence. I think I
know the man to employ; and we will start at once, so that no time may
be lost, I want to see you settled in your proper position here. The
thought of it gives me a new lease of life! Of course, you will want a
proper establishment; more servants both in the house and out of it;
you will want carriages and horses; both the lodges must be rebuilt,
and the old avenue opened out and put in order. Heron Hall was one of
the finest places in the county and it shall be so again."

"And Jessie shall be the housekeeper and Jason the butler," said Ida,
with a laugh of almost child-like enjoyment. "Oh, it all seems like a
dream; and I feel that at any moment I may wake and find myself at
Laburnum Villa. And, oh, Mr. Wordley, I shall want some more money at
once. I want to send the Herons a present, a really nice present that
will help them, I hope, to forget the trouble I caused them. Poor
people! it was not their fault; they did not understand." Mr. Wordley
snorted.

"There is one topic of conversation, my dear Miss Ida, I shall be
compelled to bar," he said. "I never want to hear Mr. John Heron's name
again. As to sending them a present, you can, of course, send them
anything you like, to the half of your kingdom; though, if you ask me
whether they deserve it--"

"I didn't ask you," said Ida, with a laugh, putting her hand on his
arm. "If we all got our deserts, how sad it would be for everyone of
us."

Mr. Wordley grunted.

"To-morrow I shall pay a sum of money into the bank for you, and you
will have to drive over and get a cheque-book; and you can amuse
yourself by drawing cheques until I come again."

He lingered as long as he could, and kept the carriage waiting some
time; but at last he went and Ida was left alone to face the strange
change in her fortune. She sat before the fire dreaming for a few
minutes, then she wandered over the old house from room to room; and
every room had its memories and associations for her. In the library
she could almost fancy that her father was sitting in the high-backed
chair which was still drawn up in its place to the table; an