immersed in the details of his business, his love grew cold and he began
to neglect his wife cruelly. He became a railway president and amassed
a great fortune, but was not so successful a husband as he was a
financier. The result was that the Sicilian girl, after some years of
unhappiness and suffering, deserted him and returned to her own country,
leaving her child, then three years old, behind her. To be frank with
you, it was said at the time that my mother's mind had become
unbalanced, or she would not have abandoned me to the care of a loveless
father, but I prefer to think that she had come to hate her husband so
bitterly that she could have no love for his child or else she feared
that her terrible mother would kill me if I came into her power. Her
flight mattered little to my father, except that it made him more stern
and tyrannical toward me. He saw me very seldom and confided my
education to servants. So I grew up practically unloved and uncared for,
and when the proper time arrived I was sent to college. My father now
gave me an ample allowance, and at the close of my college career called
me into his office and ordered me to enter the employ of the railway
company. I objected to this. I did not like the business and had other
plans for my future. But he was stubborn and dictatorial, and when I
continued unsubmissive he threatened to cast me off entirely and leave
his fortune to charity, since he had no other near relatives. He must
have thought better of this decision afterward, for he gave me a year to
decide whether or not I would obey him. At the end of that time, he
declared, I would become either a pauper or his heir, at my option.

"It was during this year that I formed the acquaintance of your niece,
Miss Merrick, and grew to love her devotedly. Louise returned my
affection, but her mother, learning of my quarrel with my father,
refused to sanction our engagement until I was acknowledged his heir. I
was forbidden her house, but naturally we met elsewhere, and when I knew
she was going to Europe with you, sir, who had never seen me, we hit
upon what we thought was a happy and innocent plan to avoid the long
separation. I decided to go to Europe also, and without you or your
other nieces suspecting, my identity, attach myself to your party and
enjoy the society of Louise while she remained abroad. So I followed
you on the next ship and met you at Sorrento, where I introduced myself
as Count Ferralti--