But nothing had come of those advertisements, and more than a year had passed now; and it rather vexed Mrs. Milner to be reminded of her lost sister.
And so, when Herbert said, rather abruptly that evening, "Couldn't we do something else to find my lost aunt, mother?"
She looked up with a frown, and said, "My dear Herbert, do give your attention to the chess—that is sufficient for the present."
Herbert did not say any more until the game was finished. But when he had put up the chess board, he came and sat down by the fire, and looked thoughtfully into the cavernous depths of the coals for a minute, and then said slowly, "Don't you think we ought to try and find that auntie of mine?"
"What can we do? I was speaking to Mr. Capon the other day. Of course he had the management of all the business; and if a lawyer cannot see what is to be done, I am afraid we are not likely to succeed whatever we may try."
Herbert sighed, but did not look convinced. "I don't believe in lawyers much for a case like that," he said, in a disparaging tone. "If auntie was an heiress now, and there was a great deal of property in the question, it would make all the difference. I daresay they would find out something more that could be done then. But, as it is,—well,—I am not satisfied, mother."
His mother laughed at the tone in which these words were spoken. "My dear, I daresay the Capons would do more if I pressed them, but it would cost a great deal of money, and we are not such very rich people, you know. Besides, we cannot tell whether these unknown relatives are at all desirable kind of people to become acquainted with. I have not seen or heard of my sister for years; and her husband I never liked—he was much beneath us; and these sort of people always seem to sink lower and lower."
"But I have often heard you say that money is not everything, mother," said Herbert, quickly.
"I was not thinking of money alone, but of other things as well—moral character—and the finer feeling that makes all the difference between a gentleman and common people. Now Henry Winn—the man your aunt married—belonged to common people; and there is little doubt she has sunk to his level by this time." And Mrs. Milner sighed, as she recalled the picture of her younger sister when she last saw her.
After a pause, the conversation was renewed by Herbert asking some further questions about his unknown aunt—whether his mother had ever heard that he had cousins, as well as an aunt.