But first he had a work to do. He could not go to Wycliffe yet, much as he desired to re-establish his mother’s reputation. He must first find the man who had sought her ruin, to “pass away a summer holiday and to have a jolly good time.” If he were dead he would find his grave and be satisfied. If he was living, he would search until he found him, brand him with his traitorous designs, and prove to him that in his wickedness he had overreached himself. Then, and not until then, could he present himself before the Marquis of Wycliffe, and demand to be acknowledged as his heir. CHAPTER XXV THE RIGHTFUL HEIR He did not realize how long he had been sitting there musing over these things until a slight movement of Miss Grafton’s aroused him. “Thank you, and pardon me for my absent-mindedness,” he said, starting. “I shall not soon forget your kindness; and may I trespass upon it still further? Will you allow me to make a copy of what I have read?” “Certainly, if it will be of any benefit to you,” Miss Grafton answered, the look of kindly sympathy still on her face. He noticed it, and, after a moment’s thoughtful hesitation, said, with a rising flush: “This young bride of whom the rector has written was my mother.” “_Was?_” she repeated in a sad tone. “Yes, was,” he said, with a trembling lip. “She died only a week ago, and I feel that it is due to you, for your kindness to me, that I should tell you this. She believed, and has believed all these long years, that she was most cruelly wronged. She was driven from her beautiful home on account of it, and has suffered in silence ever since. I knew nothing of her sad history, believing my father had died before my birth, until a very short time before her own death. It was true that she had the certificate of which the rector speaks, but that man told her, and she believed, it was a sham and a forgery. Whether he was ever told or discovered that his accomplice was foiled and driven from the field, and a _bona fide_ marriage performed, is a mystery; but I am rather inclined to think he did not, since, if he ever discovered my mother’s position in life, he would undoubtedly have been anxious to claim her as his wife. She was a lady, and occupied a station in every way honorable before this sad trouble overtook her; and I to-day, with this to prove it, can claim a name as proud as any in England. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Wycliffe, of whom you have doubtless heard.” “Is it possible?” Miss Grafton exclaimed, greatly surprised; “and you are therefore the heir of Wycliffe.” “Yes; but before I present my claim I have a work to do. I must find him who wronged and ruined my mother’s life,” he returned, with firmly compressed lips and lowering brow.