"Miss Farrell, sir!" said the maid, throwing open the door of the
library.
And Ruth walked forward, followed closely by Mollie.
It was a long, narrow room, lined with book-shelves, and the solitary
light from a crimson-shaded lamp on the central table gave an air of
gloom after the bright illumination of the hall without. On a lounge-
chair beside the table sat Bernard Farrell, looking more cadaverous than
ever, with a velvet-skull-cap over his whitened locks. He did not rise
as his great-nieces approached, but held out his hand in a greeting
which was courteous enough, if somewhat cold.
"How do you do? I am pleased to see you. Excuse me for not having met
you earlier, but I am not feeling well to-day. I trust you have
received every attention since your arrival at the Court. Mrs Wolff
had my instructions to look after your comfort."
"Thank you, yes; we had tea in our room--a lovely room. We are looking
forward to enjoying the view from that splendid window!"
"Ah, yes; it is very fine in clear weather! Please make yourselves at
home, and ask for anything that you need. The servants are good, but
they are unused to visitors. Have no hesitation in keeping them up to
their duties. Will you be seated? In a few minutes we can, I hope,
begin the business of the hour."
He waved them towards some chairs which were ranged before his table.
Four chairs! In the twinkling of an eye the girls had grasped both the
number and what it implied. Two other guests at least were at present
in the house, and equally interested with themselves in the coming
discussion. Their advent was evidently momentarily expected, for Mr
Farrell turned an impatient glance at the clock, and even as he did so
the door opened once more and two young men entered the room. One was
tall and dark, with an olive skin, and a curious, veiled look about his
eyes, caused by the presence of short but abnormally thick black lashes.
Viewed in profile the lashes entirely hid the eye, but the effect of
the thick black line was, singularly enough, rather attractive than the
reverse. He had a dark moustache, and his chin was square and well-
developed.
His companion was--well! the girls felt that they might have guessed it
before, as one of the awkward things which was bound to happen. He was
the stranger of the railway carriage, the supercilious personage whom
they had flattered themselves they would never see again!
Like the two girls, the new-comers had evidently not seen their host
before, for they were greeted by him with practically the same phrases;
and then came a general introduction.
"I must make you known to your fellow-guests--Mr Jack Melland, Mr
Victor Druce--Miss Farrell, Miss Mary Farrell. Mr Melland and Mr
Druce are great-nephews of my late wife. Miss Farrell and her sister
are my own nephew's only children."
The two young men turned towards the girls with curious glances. Over
Mr Jack Melland's face flitted an amused glance of recognition. His
companion's dark eyes widened with a curious scrutiny; then the lashes
dropped, and hid them from sight. Seen thus, with mouth and eyes alike
veiled, the face was a mask devoid of expression; yet Mollie had a
conviction that she had surprised something closely approaching
disappointment in that fleeting glance. Why the sight of Ruth and
herself had affected the stranger in so unpleasant a fashion it was
difficult to understand; but the impression remained. Her eyes
travelled upward to the face of Jack Melland, and marvelled at the
contrast.
"His face betrays him, in spite of himself. His nostrils alone would
give him away," she told herself, smiling. "He is cross, the other
inscrutable; Ruth is frightened, and I am amused. We look like four
school-children seated in a row, with Uncle Bernard as the teacher...
When is the lesson to begin?"
At once, apparently; for Mr Farrell lost no time in preliminaries, but
began his explanation as soon as the young men were seated.
"I have asked you to meet me here as soon as possible after your
arrival, for it is better that we should understand each other from the
beginning. You have thought it strange, no doubt, that, after having
had no communication with your families for so many years, I should
suddenly develop a desire for your company. Circumstances have,
however, materially altered for me during the last few weeks by the
discovery that it is necessary that my affairs should be settled without
delay.
"I have, as you know, no child left to inherit, and as this place is not
entailed, it is entirely in my hands to bequeath as I think fit. Until
now--for reasons which you may perhaps understand--the idea of making a
will has been so painful that I have continually postponed the ordeal;
but my doctor, who is also my old friend, has convinced me that I must
delay no longer.
"I am suffering from an affection of the heart which makes it impossible
that I can live longer than a couple of years, and probably the time may
be but a few months. He has urged me, therefore, to settle business
affairs, so that I might spend the remainder of my days undisturbed; but
to decide on a suitable heir is not an easy matter. I am, as you may
have heard, a very rich man, and I hold strong, and perhaps somewhat
unusual, ideas as to the qualifications which are necessary for the
owner of great wealth. It is not my intention to divide the inheritance
in any way, therefore it is the more important to make a right choice."
He paused for a moment, and the four young people looked up sharply.
Victor Druce's eyes roved quickly from one to the other of his three
companions. Jack Melland's lips closed more tightly than before.
Ruth's cheeks glowed with a carmine flush. She was the nearest
relation; hers was the first claim! Her heart beat with quick,
sickening thuds; only Mollie looked frankly curious and unperturbed.
"As I said before," continued Mr Farrell, "we are, so far, complete
strangers to each other; but I judge you all to hold equal rights to
anything which I have to leave. Ruth and Mary are my nearest legal
relations; but my wife's people always ranked with me as my own, and,
other things being equal, I should prefer a male heir. I make no point
of the name; the Court is not an estate which has descended to me from
many generations of ancestors. My father bought it from the late owner,
so there is no real reason why a Farrell should necessarily inherit.
"It is from one of your number, then, that I shall adopt my heir; but,
in order to do so, I must have some knowledge of your respective
characters and attainments. As I said before, I hold somewhat unusual
views. What the world in general would probably consider the best
qualification for the owner of a big estate is, in my eyes, an
insuperable objection. What I look to find, others might regard as a
fault. We all have our own ideas, and must act according to our lights.
I wish then, in the first place, to make your acquaintance but do not
be afraid that I shall make the task too unpleasant.
"For the furtherance of my plan, I should wish you to lead as full and
interesting a life as may be. The Court has been shut up for years, but
its doors can now be thrown open for your benefit. You are free to come
and go, to invite whom you will, and no doubt the neighbourhood will be
eager to meet you half-way. My own health will not permit me to arrange
your amusements; but I give you the use of my house, carte blanche as
regards expenses, and Mrs Wolff to play propriety--the rest you must
arrange for yourselves. If each in turn took the management of affairs
for a few weeks at a time, it would meet my views, as helping me to form
the necessary ideas of character and tastes."
There was a simultaneous movement of surprise on the part of the
listeners, and one and the same word was repeated by four pairs of
lips--
"Weeks!"
Mr Farrell smiled grimly.
"You are surprised at the time implied. My invitations were
intentionally vague, for I had not at the time made up my mind as to
various details. I have now decided that for the proper development of
my scheme three months at least will be necessary. I therefore invite
you to be my guests at the Court during that period."
Again came the involuntary, simultaneous start of surprise, and Jack
Melland cried hastily--
"It is impossible! I am obliged to you, sir; but it is quite
impossible, so far as I am concerned. My business--"
"My--my mother!" cried Ruth. "We could not leave her so long; she needs
our help--"
Mr Farrell interrupted with upraised hand.
"We will defer objections, if you please! I am prepared to meet and
answer them, later on. For the present I ask you to think quietly over
the prospect which lies before you, and to consider how far such
obstacles as you have mentioned should be allowed to stand in the way.
Surely the object is worth some temporary inconvenience or loss. This
house, and all that it contains, with various properties bringing in an
income of over ten thousand a year, will in due course become the
property of one of your number--of the one who best fulfils a certain
condition which I consider essential."
"And the condition--the condition?" queried Mollie eagerly.
Mr Farrell looked at her in silence, while a grim smile passed over his
features.
"That," he said slowly--"that, my dear Miss Mary,--will be discovered,
with other things,--when you hear my will read aloud on the day of my
funeral?"