“Ah, of course Gloria has told you. I gathered as much from her. Naturally, grateful as she is to her uncle for his care of her, his kindness and generosity, she would conceal nothing from us. She has told me of that loan of a thousand pounds, which of course throws a very clear light upon my brother’s financial position. We are both men of business; it tells the same story to both. I know nothing of the nature of Howard’s business, but it must be a very precarious one, since he is up to-day and down to-morrow. I don’t suppose he will leave anything behind him.” “I feel quite certain he will not,” Lydon agreed. “But when I asked Gloria to be my wife, I never took any expectations of that sort into account.” “I quite believe you; you loved my dear daughter for herself. Well, Leonard, I should like to tell you this. When I and her mother die, whatever I may have to leave will be divided equally between my children. Gloria will not be an heiress, but neither will she be a pauper.” Leonard bowed his head in acknowledgment of this intimation, conveyed with such delicacy and courtesy. Howard Stormont might be a scoundrel, a mover in crooked ways, as his connection with Elise Makris proved, but his brother was certainly an honest man. CHAPTER TWELVE At the end of the week, the Jasper Stormonts moved to the fine old Tudor house at Effington. And, shortly before they did so, there came for Lydon an invitation from his future uncle-in-law which the young man fancied had been instigated by the banker. If it did not interfere with his business arrangements, would Leonard make the Hall his headquarters for the next week, going up to London in the morning and returning when the duties of the day were done? Jasper Stormont’s holiday was to be only a brief one, and shortly he would return to China for another long period of exile. Perhaps in this brief time he wished to see as much as possible of the man who was to marry his daughter, in order to prove if further acquaintance would increase or diminish his first favourable impressions of him. For Gloria had told him that her father had formed an exceedingly good opinion of him, and expressed his satisfaction that she had made such a wise choice. “And dear dad’s opinion is worth having,” said the girl proudly. She was fond of her uncle, very grateful to him for all he had done for her, for the happiness he had brought into her life. But it was easy to see that for her father she had a great respect almost amounting to reverence, in addition to her filial love. No doubt, so far as character was concerned, she put the two men on totally different planes. And Lydon knew that her instinct was right. Even if he had never opened that letter to Zillah Mayhew, and still believed Howard Stormont to be what he had originally thought him--a shrewd, blunt, genial fellow--he would have soon discovered that Jasper was made of the sounder metal.