"Was it a large fortune?" asked Fane.
"Not very large--a few thousand pounds. One day Brand stated that his cousin was dead, and that he had the money on condition that he changed his name. Now you see, Fane, how Wentworth came to be called Brand. It was curious that he should have the same name as the uncle from whom Flora hoped to get money."
"A coincidence," said Fane coolly; "these things happen in real life. It is only in fiction that coincidences appear to be absurd."
"Well, to continue the story," said Arnold, stealing a glance at the American, "Brand married my cousin after the death of her mother. He took her to live at Gunnersbury."
"I thought you said they lived at Hampstead."
"Later on they did, but not when they first married. Brand--as he said--was a commercial traveller."
"As he said; you doubt his statement then?"
"I have reason to," responded Calvert gravely. "Please let me tell the story in my own way. You can comment on it when it is done. Brand being, as he said, a commercial traveller, was often away for months at a time. Flora, suspecting nothing wrong----"
"Why should she?" asked Fane.
"Wait," said Arnold. "Flora, suspecting nothing wrong, was quite happy. Her husband was fond of her, and they lived in complete harmony. He had banked the money he received from his cousin, and proposed later, when his business affairs were more prosperous, to furnish a house for her. Especially did he promise to furnish a White Room."