In his boyish Impulsiveness, having been led on to talk about himself, he was half tempted to consult her about the matter that was troubling his mind in connection with Lord Deseret. But how should this half-foreign woman know anything about such matters. It was not likely that she had ever heard tell of Lady Susan Sandys. How should she? And so he lapsed into a brown study, thinking over it all. He was aroused from it by another leading question from madame. "And your father? Is he alive? Can he not help to solve your difficulty?" "Well--you must think us a queer lot--we never saw our father till a short time ago. He has been living in France. We thought he was dead. He killed a man in a gaming quarrel long ago and had to live abroad, and he's been there ever since."? "Truly, as you say, you are an odd family. Will you bring your brother to see me sometime?" "I'm sure he would like it, but he's not often in town. You see, he has the brains and he's putting them to use. I'll bring him, though, the first time he's up." It was not till afterwards that her interest in him and his struck him as somewhat unusual, and then he had other things to think about. That same afternoon he went to Park Lane, and found Deseret House and asked for Lord Deseret. "Now, this is good of you," was his lordship's greeting--"to look up an old man when all the world is young and calling to you." "I wanted to ask you something, sir, if I may." "Say on, my boy. Anything I can tell you is very much at your service." "When you were speaking about Jack and me the other night, you said something which has been puzzling me ever since. You asked, 'Which of you is Lady Susan Sandys's boy?'" "Yes--well?" asked the old man, with a glint of surprise in the keen dark eyes, which rested on the boy's ingenuous face. "Was Lady Susan Sandys our mother, sir?" "Good heavens, boy, do you mean to say you don't know who your own mother was?" "We don't know anything sir. That was the first time I had ever heard her name." "Good God!" And there was no doubt about the vast surprise in the calm white face now, as its owner stood for a moment staring at Jim and then began to pace the room in very deep thought. "Your grandfather? Has he never discussed these things with you?" "Never, sir. We have never had very much to do with him, you see. Until quite lately we supposed our father was dead too. Then, one day, he came to Carne--from France, where he lives, and it was a great surprise to us." "And you know nothing about your mother?" "Nothing whatever, sir. But since you said that, I have been thinking of very little else. You said, 'Which of you is Lady Susan Sandys's boy?' Does that mean that we are not both Lady Susan Sandys's boys? That would mean that we had different mothers. But how could that be when we are both the same age? I wish you would tell me what it all means, for I've thought and thought till my brain is getting all twisted up with thinking."