“No. He had a lot of sisters—some of them are alive still. Awful old things, my aunts are, too. No, he never had any brother. Why do you ask?”
“Nothing—it’s a mere coincidence. Did I ever tell you that my mother was married twice? My father was her second husband. The first had your name.”
“Johnstone, with an E on the end of it?”
“Yes—with an E.”
“Gad! that’s funny!” exclaimed Brook. “Some connection, I dare say. Then we are connected too, you and I, not much though, when one thinks of it. Step-cousin by marriage, and ever so many degrees removed, too.”
“You can’t call that a connection,” said Clare with a little laugh, but her face was thoughtful. “Still, it is odd that she should have known your father well, and should have married a man of the same name—with the E—isn’t it?”
“He may have been an own cousin, for all I know,” said Brook. “I’ll ask. He’s sure to remember. He never forgets anything. And it’s another coincidence too, that my father should have been married twice, just like your mother, and that I should be the son of the second marriage, too. What odd things happen, when one comes to compare notes!”
While they had walked up and down, Lady Johnstone had paid no attention to them, but she had grown restless as soon as she had seen that they stood still at a distance to talk, and her bright blue eyes turned towards them again and again, with sudden motherly anxiety. At last she could bear it no longer.
“Brook!” she cried. “Brook, my dear boy!” Brook and Clare walked back towards the little group.
“Brook, dear,” said Lady Johnstone. “Please come and tell me the names of all the mountains and places we see from here. You know, I always want to know everything as soon as I arrive.”