E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Sue Fleming, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org) Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See http://archive.org/details/mortomleysestate01ridd Project Gutenberg has the other two volumes of this work. Volume II: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39552 Volume III: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39661 MORTOMLEY'S ESTATE. A Novel. BY MRS. RIDDELL, AUTHOR OF "GEORGE GEITH," "TOO MUCH ALONE," "HOME, SWEET HOME," "THE EARL'S PROMISE," ETC. ETC. _IN THREE VOLUMES._ VOL. I. LONDON: TINSLEY BROTHERS. 8, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND. 1874. _All rights of Translation and Reproduction are Reserved._ PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO., LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. TO Emma Martin, OF WADESMILL, HERTS, THIS STORY IS DEDICATED, AS A TOKEN OF THE AUTHOR'S RESPECT AND AFFECTION. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. INTRODUCES MR. ASHERILL TO THE READER 1 II. A VERY WET SATURDAY 20 III. FOR MERCIES VOUCHSAFED 43 IV. SUMMER DAYS 63 V. ABOUT MRS. MORTOMLEY AND OTHERS 99 VI. MRS. MORTOMLEY IS ADVISED FOR HER GOOD 119 VII. LENORE 134 VIII. A DEAD FAINT 147 IX. THE FIRST MUTTERINGS OF THE STORM 167 X. MR. FORDE TAKES HIS HAT 200 XI. RUPERT SPEAKS VERY PLAINLY 225 XII. THE SAME DAY AT HOMEWOOD 242 XIII. MORTOMLEY'S FRIENDS 256 XIV. KLEINWORT IS SYMPATHETIC 271 MORTOMLEY'S ESTATE. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCES MR. ASHERILL TO THE READER. During the course of the last ten or at most fifteen years, a new class of building has, mushroom like, sprung up in the Metropolis, which cannot perhaps better be described in a sentence than as "The City of London Offices" (Limited).