is mind about that, although he could
hardly see the man's face in the shadowy corridor.

'Come,' said the man, 'come with me, my dear. You forgot me, but I have
not forgotten you. I mean to leave you my fortune. Come with me, and
I'll show you your legacy. It is all for you--every rupee--every jewel.'

This word rupee startled Lord Hartfield. It had a strange sound from the
lips of a Westmoreland peasant.

'Come, child, come!' said the man impatiently. 'Come and see what I have
left you in my will. I make a new will every day, but I leave everything
to you--every will is in your favour; But if you are married you had
better have your legacy at once. Your husband is strong enough to take
care of you and your fortune.'

'Poor old man,' whispered Mary; 'pray let us humour him.'

It was the usual madman's fancy, no doubt. Boundless wealth, exalted
rank, sanctity, power--these things all belong to the lunatic. He is the
lord of creation, and, fed by such fancies, he enjoys flashes of wild
happiness in the midst of his woe.

'Come, come, both of you,' said the old man, eagerly, breathless with
impatience.

He led the way across the sacred threshold, looking back, beckoning to
them with his wasted old hand, and Mary for the first time in her life
entered that house which had seemed to her from her very childhood as a
temple of silence and mystery. The passage was dimly lighted by a little
lamp on a bracket. The old man crept along stealthily, looking back,
with a face full of cunning, till he came to a broad landing, from which
an old staircase, with massive oak banisters, led down to the square
hall below. The ceilings were low, the passages were narrow. All things
in the house were curiously different from that spacious mansion which
Lady Maulevrier had built for herself.

A door on the landing stood ajar. The old man pushed it open and went
in, followed by Mary and her husband.

They both expected to see a room humble almost to poverty--an iron
bedstead, perhaps, and such furniture as the under servants in a
nobleman's household are privileged to enjoy. Both were alike surprised
at the luxury of the apartment they entered, and which was evidently
reserved exclusively for Steadman's uncle.

It was a sitting-room. The furniture was old-fashioned, but almost as
handsome as any in Lady Maulevrier's apartments. There was a large sofa
of most comfortable shape, covered with dark red velvet, and furnished
with pillows