"So far as I am concerned I should like to break the engagement, Julius. We were never suited to one another." Beryl's vanity was hurt. "Why did you accept me then?" "What else could I do? It was Sir Simon's wish that we should marry, and, owing to my circumstances, I had no choice in the matter. During his life I was merely a puppet. But you do not care for me." "I do. I swear I do." "Although you swore for an hour, I should never believe you. There is only one thing in this world you love, Julius, and that is money. You told Sir Simon about Bernard being in love with Alice, that the poor boy might be disinherited." Beryl did not deny the charge. "I believe you are in love with Bernard yourself," he said. "No. Bernard and I are like brother and sister. But he is dead, so you need not cast stones at his memory." "Are you sure he is dead?" asked Beryl, warming his hands. Lucy sat up on the sofa and pushed the loose hair back from her forehead. "Why do you say that?" she asked sharply. Julius stared at the fire. "I can't understand Durham's attitude," he said evasively. "He must know that Bernard is dead, seeing that the coat and hat were found on the banks of the river. No man could have lived in the cold and the fog. Yet if Durham was sure he would not hold the estate against Bernard's coming." "Mr. Durham requires proof of the death," rejoined Lucy, sharply; "and until then, he is bound to administer the estate according to the will. As Bernard's body has not been found, there is always a chance that he may have escaped." "I sincerely trust not." "Ah! You always hated Bernard." "On the contrary, I speak for his good. What's the use of his coming to life when he must suffer for his crime?" "I don't believe he committed it," said Lucy, doggedly. "You have no grounds for saying that," said Julius, pale with rage. "I don't need grounds," retorted the genuine woman. "Bernard always was as kind-hearted as you were--and are, the reverse." "I am not hard-hearted," snapped Beryl. "I always do good--" "When it is to your own benefit." "Not always. For instance, I am down here to get a small boy a post with Miss Plantagenet as a page." "That is very good of you," said Lucy, scornfully. "Ah, you see I can do a kind action. This boy is a grandson of Lord Conniston's housekeeper, Mrs. Moon." "At Cove Castle," said Lucy, with some color in her face. "I know." "Do you know Lord Conniston?" asked Julius suspiciously. "I have met him once. He seems to be a most delightful fellow." "What a delightful speech for a lady," said Beryl. "Conniston is a scamp. I heard he enlisted in the Lancers." "It shows how brave he is. Every man worth calling a man should go to the front." "Perhaps you would like me to go," sneered Julius. "You would never have the pluck," said Lucy, quickly. "All your ends in life are gained by cunning, not by bravery."