f society, and the
fact that I was heir to Fairclose had no influence whatever with her,
but finding that I had amended my ways and was leading an earnest and
hard-working life, she accepted me, small though my income was."

"God bless her!" Mr. Brander said, fervently. "We never got on well
together, Mr. Hartington. I had always an uneasy consciousness that she
disapproved of me, and that she regarded me as a humbug, and as I was
conscious of the fact myself this was not pleasant. So I was rather glad
than otherwise that she should choose her own path. But I am indeed
delighted at this. She is honesty and truth itself, and I pray she may
make up to you for wrongs you have suffered at my hands."

"She will do much more than that, Mr. Brander, and you see I have good
reason for what I said when I was here before, that the change in my
fortune had been a benefit, since it had forced me to take up a
profession and work at it. Had it not been for that I should never have
won Mary. My being once again master of Fairclose would not have weighed
with her in the slightest. She would not have married a mere idler, had
he been a duke. Now you had better finish reading the deed."

The lawyer read it through to the end.

"You have indeed made it easy for me," he said, when he had laid it
down.

"You see, I have an object in doing so, Mr. Brander. I told you that my
interest in your reputation was as great as your own. I hope that in any
case I should not have made a harsh use of the power I possessed. I am
sure that I should not, especially as I felt how much I had benefited by
the two years of work, but perhaps I might not have felt quite so
anxious that no breath of suspicion should fall upon you had it not been
for Mary."

"Does she know?" Mr. Brander asked.

"She does not know and will never hear it from me. She may have vague
suspicions when she hears that you have made over Fairclose to me, but
these will never be more than suspicions. Nor need your other daughters
know. They may wonder, perhaps, that Mary should have so large a share
of your property, but it will be easy for you to make some sort of
explanation, as is given in this deed, of your reason for restoring
Fairclose to me with her."

"They will be too glad to get away from here, to care much how it was
brought about, and if afterwards they come to ask any questions about
it, I can tell them so much of the truth that it had been found the sale
of the prope