Ralph tried to look sorry, but he was so full of anxiety to know why Mr. Mordan was here, that he did not succeed particularly well.
"Will you tell me why you wrote to my father, sir? I was in the East, travelling for my proper distraction—for my own amusement, I would say. I returned in haste, to find my father dying. Business has occupied every moment since his death. I could not fulfil the request of my poor friend until now, nor seek for his children, concerning whose fate I am extremely anxious."
"Anxious about the children, sir! Then it was not to see them that you came here?"
"No; but do you tell me in seriousness that they are here? Ah, what a relief! It is only lately that the circumstances of my poor friend's death became known to me. I was far away—no letters reached me for a very long time. The packet containing his last letter missed me, and was sent to me by a friend from Damascus, quite recently. I returned, summoned because my father was ill; I never heard his voice again, though he lived for many weeks; he was speechless. Then, as no doubt you are aware, there was a change of Government in France; this naturally occasioned difficulties in business, and seriously injured our house, so recently deprived of its experienced chief. I have been obliged to devote every moment, every energy, to the work of saving our house. Then came these letters—my friend's last among them. Then I make inquiries more particular—begin to fear his children may be in want—follow him to England, partly to see you, sir, still more to find the helpless little ones. But I presume their father gave them directions how to act. I had feared that his death was too sudden to admit of that."
"So it was," replied Ralph. "He only said they were to go to Fairford, to their grandfather."
"But that was enough," said Mr. Mordan, smiling.
"They came on, poor children," pursued Ralph, wondering what on earth the man meant by that, "and began to inquire for their grandfather."
"And they found you?" said Mr. Mordan, still mysteriously pleased about something.
"Well, I don't know about finding," said Ralph, slowly, with a puzzled look. "I made acquaintance with Ruth Garland accidentally, and was led on by little and little to take an interest in her. They live with me now, and I hope, sir, that you won't take them from me, for it would break my heart to part with them now; though I know I have no claim to keep them, if they wish to go, and you can do better for them than I can—as I make no doubt you could, sir."
Mr. Mordan was the one to look puzzled now. After a little thought, he said: