"My uncle? No, certainly I never did. An Egerton or a Villiers uncle? Egerton, I suppose; for now I remember Rowe, the old keeper, who is pensioned off, you know, telling me I was the image of Mr. Guy; but I thought he was speaking of a brother of Sir Aymer. Rowe is so old, you know."
"Sir Aymer never had a brother. It was, no doubt, your uncle of whom Rowe spoke, for you really are as like him as ever you can be. But you must never speak of him, Villiers, remember that, nor let Sir Aymer know that I have done so."
"But tell me why? Of course I shall not speak of him, but you have filled me with curiosity."
"I will tell you about him, for perhaps it may help you to have patience with your grandfather when he lectures you on the subject of low marriages. Guy was the younger son, and his father's favourite. There was a sister too, poor Clarice—such a lovely creature! She and I were great friends. I knew them all from childhood. Guy was very clever, quite a genius, we used to think. Clarice was killed by a fall from her horse, and Guy was so ill from the shock, that he was sent abroad; and he would not come home again, though Sir Aymer was very angry about it. I rather think he must have had some difference with Sir Aymer before he went."
"I can quite believe that," put in Villiers.
"But I never knew for certain. He wrote accounts of curious antiquities and other things, for scientific journals, and he published a small volume of poems. I have been told that they are very fine, but I don't understand a word of them. I believe he spoke every language that ever was heard of. At last he came home, and then it was discovered that he was married."
"Well—and was it a low marriage?"
"My dear! She was the daughter of a man who kept a small inn, or public-house, in a wild, out of the way part of Germany."
"Oh, jolly! Oh, delicious!" laughed Villiers. "What would I not have given to see Sir Aymer's face!"
"You wicked boy! It was no joking matter, I can tell you. He turned poor Guy out of the house at once, and never has he spoken his name from that day."