Now what puzzled Hench was why Squire Evans should have acted in this very roundabout way to bring about a meeting. An honest man would have either ignored the son of the brother he hated or would have openly invited him as his heir to visit him. Instead of doing this Madoc had behaved mysteriously in making the appointment, and had chosen for the rendezvous a solitary place out-of-doors. It seemed tolerably clear to Owain that his uncle had intended to do him harm; perhaps his idea was to murder him so that he should not inherit. Squire Evans, if the hints of Gwen and the very plain speaking of Mrs. Perage were to be believed, was by no means honest, so it was just possible that he wanted to get his hated heir out of the way. Hench shrunk from this conclusion, but after much thought could come to no other. The unexpected murder of the Squire had prevented his own death taking place. When the young man rose in the morning he turned the matter over in his mind, both while he was having his bath and while he was getting into his clothes. It then occurred to him that, as Madame Alpenny wished him to inherit so that he might marry Zara, the scheme of Evans would scarcely have suited her. She would have been no party to such a transaction, as such would have rendered void all her plans to get money through the marriage. But Madoc, being crafty, had probably not explained what he intended to do, and Madame Alpenny had returned to The Home of the Muses simply to bring about a meeting which would result in Owain entering into his kingdom on the death of his uncle. As things had turned out that death had taken place very unexpectedly, and Hench wondered if Madame Alpenny believed that he was the criminal. It seemed impossible that she should so believe, as in the first place she was ignorant that he had kept the appointment, and in the second if she was aware she would assuredly have moved in the matter before now. Owain could not understand her silence. The only reason he could conceive why she should remain in the background when things had come to such a pass was that her intention was to come forward when he took possession of the estate. Then--as he thought--she would appear at Cookley Grange with Zara, and if he refused to marry the girl would then accuse him of the murder.