‘Possibly; but he was a man of quiet, studious mind, utterly averse to business matters. He must have done it by advice. Who managed his affairs for him?’ ‘Could I help his folly?’ questioned Belassis hoarsely; ‘I was but his tool, his agent. I bought and sold for him, but it was all his own doing.’ Belassis looked so completely cowed that Tor was half inclined to pity him. Indignation on Phil’s account, however, urged him to speak out. ‘Indeed! Well, sir, I am not a business man myself, but it does seem strange to me how completely my father’s fortune vanished, whilst yours steadily augmented. As you knew so well how to manage your own affairs, one would naturally suppose you might have saved him from ruin. It looks a little strange, on the face of things, especially considering how little my father knew of the world, and how completely he trusted his affairs to you. I was ten years old, remember, when he died, quite old enough to remember a good deal. I do not know yet how the thing is done, one man enriching himself at his neighbour’s expense; but of course such transactions are common enough, and I can soon discover a little of the method. Well, I will say good-evening now. I dare say you will have a good deal to think over, so I will not longer disturb your meditations. I hope they will be pleasant and profitable to you.’ Tor rose and quitted the room, without waiting for a reply. Alfred Belassis had a great deal to say to his wife that night. ‘I told you he was our enemy,’ she said. ‘I told you to let him alone. Well, if he is going to be dangerous to us, I will see if I cannot be dangerous to him too.’ And Mrs. Belassis’ face looked venomous enough, as she lost herself in deep thought. CHAPTER XII. AN AWKWARD RECOGNITION. For some days after that encounter with Belassis, Tor saw little of the uncle or the uncle’s family. He was rather glad of this, because Matilda and Bertha had grown somewhat pressing in their attentions of late, and he neither felt disposed to encourage nor yet to snub them. He liked to take life easily, without disturbing himself or others by needless display of feeling, and he hoped that these two supposed cousins would gradually ‘slack off’ from their pursuit of himself, without driving him to any definite declaration of indifference. The Belassis family was, however, reaping distinct social advantage from its close connection with Philip Debenham of Ladywell Manor. Houses which had heretofore been utterly closed to the ‘pettifogging, vulgar attorney,’ were thrown open to young Debenham’s uncle, and invitations to dinners, dances, and outdoor _fêtes_ rained in thick and fast, to the great delight of the Belassis girls.