"Ah!" sighed Miss Malleson. "And when will that be?"
"Sooner than you think, perhaps. Every day brings a surprise."
One day certainly brought a surprise to Lucy Randolph. She learned that Conniston loved her, though, to be sure, his frequent visits might have shown her how he was losing his heart. She was glad of this as she admired Conniston exceedingly, and, moreover, wished to escape from her awkward position at the Hall. When Bernard came back and married Alice, she would have to leave the Hall and live on the small income allotted to her by the generosity of the dead man. It would be much better, as she truly thought, to marry Conniston, even though he was the poorest of peers. One can do a lot with a title even without money, and Lucy was wise in her generation. Moreover, she was truly in love with the young man, and thought, very rightly, that he would make her a good husband.
As usual, Conniston, having taken into his head that Lucy would be an ideal wife, pursued his suit with characteristic impetuosity. He came over daily—or almost daily—to Gore Hall, and, finally, when Lucy broke off her engagement to Beryl, he told her of the whereabouts of Bernard. Lucy was overwhelmed and delighted.
"To think that he should be alive after all," she said. "I am so pleased, so glad. Dear Bernard, now he will be able to enjoy the fortune and the title, and marry Alice."
"You forget," said Conniston, a trifle dryly, "Bernard has yet to prove his innocence. We are all trying to help him. Will you also give a hand, Miss Randolph?"
Lucy stared at him with widely-open eyes. "Of course I will, Lord Conniston," she said heartily. "What do you wish me to do?"
"In the first place, tell me if you sent a boy to bring Bernard to Crimea Square?"
"No. I know the boy you mean. He is a lad called Jerry Moon. Julius found him selling matches in town, ragged and poor. He helped him, and the other day he procured him a situation with Miss Berengaria."
"He is there now. But he—we have reason to believe—is the boy who lured Bernard to Crimea Square."