"Some little time after they had settled in Rotterdam, John Carr--Squire Carr now--went over and saw them. There's no doubt his visit was a fishing one, hoping to find out that a marriage _had_ taken place; for in that case, Marmaduke Carr would have wanted another heir than his son. I am sure that John, close-fisted as he was known to be, would have given a hundred pounds out of his pocket to be able to come back and report that they were married; but he could not. He was obliged to confess not only that his cousin and Miss Hughes were not married, but that Robert had told him he never should marry her. And, indeed, it was hardly to be supposed that he would then." "But----" "A moment yet, if you please, Mr. Carr. Some considerable time after this, and when I think there was one child born--which must have been you, sir--Mr. Carr got to see a letter written by Martha Ann Hughes to her sister Mary. I think he got the sight of it through you, Mr. Arkell?" "Through my father. Mary Hughes was at work at our house, and Tring, our maid, brought the letter on the sly to my mother. My father, I remember, said he should like to show it to Marmaduke Carr; and he did so." "Ay. Well, Mr. Carr, nothing could have been plainer than that letter. Mary Ann Hughes acknowledged that she had no hope of Robert's marrying her; but he was kind to her, she said, and she was as happy as anyone well could be under her unfortunate circumstances. Indeed, I fear you have no room for hope." "Where is that letter?" asked the clergyman. "It's impossible to say. Destroyed most likely long ago. None of your mother's family are remaining in Westerbury." "Are they all dead?" "Dead or dispersed. The brother went off to America or somewhere; and the second sister, Mary, died: it was said she grieved a great deal about her sister, your mother. The eldest sister married a young man of the name of Pycroft, and they also emigrated. Nothing has been heard of any of them for years." "You must permit me to maintain my own opinion, Mr. Fauntleroy," pursued Robert Carr; "and I shall certainly not allow anyone to interfere with my grandfather's property. If the other branch of the family--Squire Carr and his sons--wish to put forth any pretensions to it, they must first prove their right." Mr. Fauntleroy laughed. He was amused at the clergyman's idea of law. "The proof lies with you, Mr. Carr," he said; "and not with them. They cannot prove a negative, you know; and they say that no marriage took place. It is for you to prove that it did. Failing that proof, the property will be theirs." "And meanwhile? While we are searching for the proof?" questioned Robert Carr, after a pause. "Meanwhile they retain possession. I understand that Mrs. Lewis has already come over and taken up her abode in the house." "Who is Mrs. Lewis?" asked the clergyman.