His mother was overjoyed to see him and he briefly told her the story of the child. When he had finished she kissed Aline and said, “You poor sweet thing, now at last you have reached a haven of rest and you must count me as your mother as far as I can be one.” Aline had not before felt shy of her boy’s clothes, but the gentle courteous lady made her long for her own things and she blushingly began to apologise. “You need not distress yourself, dear child,” said the Duchess; “we can soon remedy that. Indeed you look very pretty and you make so graceful a page that you need not regret your present garb,” she added kindly and stooped and kissed her again. “We shall just make you one of ourselves and you have only to tell us what you want. For the present we can send over to Stirling and get everything that you absolutely need this very day.” In the evening, as they were all sitting by the fire, the Lady of Ochil leaned over and, taking Ian’s hand, said: “I have some sad news for you, my boy. You know that the estate was very sadly impoverished when your father succeeded. But he has been extravagant and your eldest brother was the same, and always borrowing from him. Worst of all, your brothers induced your father to make over to them during his lifetime, all the estates that he could. The regent, too, has already shown her hostility on your succession. It is a very long story; but you will have little but the title and the small original estates round the Castle. Even those are so burdened that I doubt whether we can continue to live here.” “Do not mind, Mother, about me. I never expected anything, and so I shall not miss it; it is for you that I am sorry. You will feel the change so much.” “No, my son. I am so glad to get you back that I mind nothing.” Aline rose from where she was and sat down again on the floor at Ian’s feet. “I am so sorry for you,” she said, and once more she had that curious kind of feeling that she had noticed before. She _was_ very sorry for Ian; but was she altogether sorry for the fact in itself? Did it not in some way bring them closer together? Ian’s sister, Shiona, had always worshipped her second brother; he was unto her as a god, and as she watched Aline it rather amused her to see, as it were, herself, over again, in the way that the child continually hovered round him. She was the youngest of the family, and now a tall slim girl of seventeen. She felt curiously shy of Ian, as she had not seen him for several years. He still looked very young; but he was now the head of the house in her father’s place.