“My duty is to obey him, and to so repair the wrong my mother has done him as to win him from his scheme of vengeance,” was the noble thought that came to Iris, even in this hour of her bitter humiliation and pain; and when Broughton--as we will still call the man who had declared his real name to be Carleton Tresilian--returned to the room after dismissing his visitor, Iris, white as the dead, but calm and tearless, met him with words that filled his heart with a thousand varying emotions. “What can I do to repair the cruel wrong you have suffered at my mother’s hands? I am only a girl, weak and painfully ignorant of the world and its ways; but you say you are my father, and I am ready to obey you--what would you have me do?” She was standing before him now, with her beautiful white face upturned to him, and her hands clasped tightly before her, showing the strong effort she was making to control her agitation. If Iris had borne less resemblance to the woman who had wronged him, his heart might have softened to the innocent offspring, but now the girl’s beauty only recalled to mind the tortures her mother had forced him to endure, and he laughed mockingly at her efforts to conciliate him. “My dear, I know you will obey me, simply for the reason that I shall compel you to do so. I do not intend to ask any great sacrifice at your hands; but before I state what I shall require of you, I want you to tell me why you left the home of your mother’s husband so suddenly, and why you fled from the man who was willing to marry you--the wealthy Chester St. John. I have followed up your history pretty closely since I first looked upon your face in the room occupied by the sewing girl, Jenny Mason, but the cause of your leaving Mr. Hilton’s protection I have not as yet been able to discover. Please tell me the truth of the matter at once.” “I left Mr. Hilton’s roof immediately upon learning that I had no legal right to the benefits he conferred on me; and as for Mr. St. John--you know that I would not marry him, believing myself the child of a felon!” “Your home shall be with me for the future--at least until I can find a good husband for you. This is my residence, and as you may observe, it is pretty comfortable. I have no women in the house save one old negress, who attends to the chamber work. All the rest of my servants are males, and colored. I shall teach them to look upon you as their mistress, and I do not think you will find it any trouble to manage them. I receive a great many friends here almost every evening, and I shall expect you to help me entertain them. My friends are gentlemen always, and we employ our time in the enjoyment of a social game of cards. All I shall require of you, Iris, will be to dress handsomely, look your prettiest, and make yourself agreeable to my comrades and friends. Do you understand?”