"There is just enough of the old Richard Vont left," he said, "to send you back to where you came from, with a message, if you care to carry it. Tell him--your brother, the Lord of Mandeleys--that I am not sitting here of idle purpose, that I don't hear the voices around me for nothing, that I don't look day and night at Mandeleys for nothing. Tell him to make the most of the sun that shines to-day and the soft bed he lies on to-night and the woman he kisses to-morrow, for he is very close to the end. I am an old man, but I'm here to see the end. It has been promised." The Duchess, brimful of common sense and good humour, brave as a lion and ready of tongue as she was, felt a little giddy, and clung to the rail as she crossed the little bridge over the moat. She looked back only once. Richard Vont remained standing just as she had left him--grim, motionless, menacing. CHAPTER XXX The Marquis glanced at the note which was handed to him at luncheon time, frowned slightly and handed it across to Letitia. "What have you people been doing to Thain?" he asked a little irritably. "He doesn't want to come to dinner." The Duchess and Sylvia, who had just arrived on her projected visit, made no attempt to conceal their disappointment. Letitia picked, up the note and read it indifferently. "I am very sorry, aunt," she said. "I gave him all the notice I could." "There is perhaps some misunderstanding," the Marquis remarked. "In any case, he would not know that you were here for so short a time, Caroline. After luncheon I will walk across and see him." "I will go with you," the Duchess decided. "I should like to see Broomleys again. As a matter of fact, I meant to go there this morning, but I found one call enough for me." They took their coffee in the garden. Letitia followed her father to a rose bush which he had crossed the lawn to examine. "Dad," she asked, passing her hand through his arm, "have you had any good news?" He shook his head. "Why?" "Because you look so much better. I think that motoring must agree with you." He patted her hand. "I rather enjoyed the drive," he admitted. "As a matter of fact, perhaps I am better," he went on. "You haven't any good news about the shares, I suppose?" she asked hesitatingly. For a moment he was grave. "I have no news at all," he confessed, "or rather what news I have is not good. I put an enquiry through an independent firm of stockbrokers with whom I have had some transactions; and their reply coincided with the information already afforded to me." Letitia glanced across the park, and her face darkened. "Has it ever struck you," she asked, "that there is something peculiar about Mr. Thain in his attitude towards us--as a family, I mean?" The Marquis shook his head. "On the contrary," he replied, "I have always considered his deportment unimpeachable."