This man did not appear to be excited. The duke mentally rocked with gleeful appreciation of certain things Mrs. Braddle detailed. She gave, of course, Burrill's version of the brief interview outside the dining-room door when Miss Alicia's status in the household bad been made clear to him. But the duke, being a man endowed with a subtle sense of shades, was wholly enlightened as to the inner meaning of Burrill's master. “Now, that was good,” he said to himself, almost chuckling. “By the Lord! the man might have been a gentleman.” When to all this was added the story of the friend or poor relative, or what not, who was supposed to be “not quoite reet i' th' yed,” and was taken care of like a prince, in complete isolation, attended by a valet, visited and cheered up by his benefactor, he felt that a boon had indeed been bestowed upon him. It was a nineteenth century “Mysteries of Udolpho” in embryo, though too greatly diluted by the fact that though the stranger was seen by no one, the new Temple Barholm made no secret of him. If he had only made a secret of him, the whole thing would have been complete. There was of course in the situation a discouraging suggestion that Temple Barholm MIGHT turn out to be merely the ordinary noble character bestowing boons. “I will burn a little candle to the Virgin and offer up prayers that he may NOT. That sort of thing would have no cachet whatever, and would only depress me,” thought his still sufficiently sinful Grace. “When, Braddle, do you think I shall be able to take a drive again?” he asked his nurse. Braddle was not prepared to say upon her own responsibility, but the doctor would tell him when he came in that afternoon. “I feel astonishingly well, considering the sharpness of the attack,” her patient said. “Our little talk has quite stimulated me. When I go out,”--there was a gleam in the eye he raised to hers,--“I am going to call at Temple Barholm.” “I knowed tha would,” she commented with maternal familiarity. “I dunnot believe tha could keep away.” And through the rest of the morning, as he sat and gazed into the fire, she observed that he several times chuckled gently and rubbed his delicate, chill, swollen knuckled hands together.