"Yes, I have told him; and, strangely enough, he welcomed the news. And yet it is not strange; for, alas! he knew the character of his son, knew that he was not worthy to bear the title. There is something more on my brother's mind than I am cognisant of. Some secret which worries him," he added.
Derrick remained silent. He dared not probe the mystery of the hidden jewel-case, of Heyton's sudden flight; but it was evident to him that Mr. Jacobs intended to conceal any knowledge he might have, and Derrick was only too thankful to concur in that concealment.
On their way to the Hall, Derrick and his father spoke of many things of the past and the future; and presently the old man said in a low voice,
"You will be married soon, Derrick?"
"The first moment Celia will have me," replied Derrick, promptly.
"I would like you to spend your honeymoon in South America," said his father.
Derrick understood, and he nodded and laid his hand on the old man's.
"And you, sir? Shall you go there—soon?"
Mr. Clendon shook his head. "No," he responded. "The chasm between us is too wide, has divided us for too long a time. But it shall be as your mother wishes. You will talk to her——We will leave her future and mine on the knees of the gods. But yours, thank God! is assured. How strangely Fate works! How little I thought, when I helped Celia to come to the Hall, that I was lending a guiding hand to the future of my son's wife. Derrick, that same fate has been very good to you."
"Don't I know it, sir!" said Derrick in a low voice.