Aunt Letitia sniffed, and flicked her fan. “Dear little love-bird,” she rasped, ironically; “let me warn you, Richard, before it is too late, that unless this pretty romance is locked in the lumber-room you will have that bully of a Lot raging round here about his sister’s honor.” Richard straightened up stiffly in his chair and stared at his aunt in melancholy astonishment. “I have done nothing to compromise Miss Jilian,” he said. “Nothing!” and the old lady cackled. “On my honor, Aunt Letitia.” “Dear lad, how innocent you are! Your virginity is better than a sermon. A pity Miss Jilian Hardacre cannot say the same about her sweet person. Well, Richard, if you take an old woman’s advice, you will break with the lady, delicately, gently, mind you. Miss Jilian is a tender young thing, and must be handled with discretion.” “And Cousin Lot—?” “Can you fight, Richard?” “Well, I am not much of a swordsman. But if Sir Peter thinks—” “That you have paid undue attention to his dear daughter—” “Yes—” “You will sacrifice your virgin honor, eh?” “Aunt Letitia, I trust I shall never act dishonorably by any woman.” The dowager shut up her fan suddenly with a snap, yawned, and announced that she was going to her chamber. “You are an incorrigible fool, Richard,” she said, contemptuously; “please ring for my maid. I see that it is quite useless to reason with such a saint.” III In one of the valleys of the forest of Pevensel lay the hamlet of the forest-folk, some half-dozen cottages of unhewn stone, their flagged roofs covered with moss and lichen. There were gardens about the scattered cottages, an orchard or two, and a few strips of cultivated land where trees had been grubbed up, and whin and heather routed. On the west the ground fell abruptly to the banks of a stream that flashed and glittered under the pine-boughs. These forest-folk mingled but little with the hinds of the neighboring villages. They were all of Grimshaw stock, sprung from the loins of Isaac Grimshaw and his brother. There were Dan and David, sons to Isaac; old Ursula their aunt, and Bess, her foster-child; also Solomon, Isaac’s brother, who had caused ten youngsters to be brought into the world. Isaac, a white-haired septuagenarian with a lame leg and a pair of unfathomable gray eyes, gave law and order to the clan like a patriarch of old. Dan, Black Dan, as the others called him, upheld his father’s word with the brute strength of his untamed body.