"Oh, Lord!" ejaculated Vernon with dismay, looking round at the old-fashioned furniture and the grimly-red colouring of the decorations, somewhat faded, it is true. "Within is worse than without. I should commit suicide in such a place. No wonder Francis Hest found blackmailing a more cheerful pursuit. He ought to have----" "Hush!" said Towton sharply, and arrested Vernon's speech as the door opened to admit the mistress of the mansion. Miss Hest looked graver than she had done at "Rangoon," and more handsome than ever in her imperial, masterful way. Vernon marvelled to see how much she resembled her brother, although the disfiguring cicatrice was absent. In her plain black dress, slashed with deep orange, Miss Hest looked like a Spanish beauty, and in the damp, secluded mansion she seemed to flourish as healthily as though she dwelt in perpetual sunshine. With a smile she came forward and greeted her visitors in a most cordial manner. "I am very glad to see you both," said Frances, sitting down when formal greetings had passed, "and especially you, Colonel Towton, as I am anxiously waiting for your promised verbal answer to my letter." "I shall explain why I did not write you with pleasure," said the Colonel gravely, "although my explanation is painful. You may even refuse to believe me, Miss Hest." She looked alarmed and her lips twitched nervously. "Francis is all right, I hope?" she inquired apprehensively. "His letter and the Deed of Gift alarmed me. I think he must be crazy." "I don't think so," rejoined Towton drily, "but before explaining, may I ask how Miss Dimsdale is keeping?" Frances shook her head dejectedly. "The death of her father is still preying on her mind, and nothing I can say or do will make her cheerful." "Perhaps this house----" began Vernon. She cut him short quickly. "I quite agree with you, and I know what you are about to say. It is too damp and too dismal for Ida. She is a flower who ought always to live in the sunshine." "Lady Corsoon is coming down to stay with me to-day," ventured Towton anxiously, "so Miss Dimsdale might come and stay at The Grange." "It's a capital idea. You can ask her for yourself, and as I know she thinks a great deal of you, Colonel, I hope you will be able to persuade her to pay the visit. She will be here shortly, but before she comes do tell me the meaning of my brother's extraordinary conduct." "What makes you think the Colonel can explain?" asked Vernon unexpectedly. Frances looked at him in surprise. "Why, I wrote after I received the Deed of Gift, asking if he had seen Francis. The Colonel replied that he would explain verbally when he came down. I have no reason to think that he knows anything of my brother's private business and I was astonished to hear that he could tell me anything. I only wrote because I wished the Colonel to see Ida, and as an afterthought asked about my brother. I thought you," she addressed the Colonel, "might have seen him in London."