"Oh! You never agreed to that."
"I have answered her challenge by asking you to dinner and will acknowledge you my heir. Mrs. Ward will then try and make mischief."
"Can she do so?"
"Yes. She knows that I was in Mrs. Jersey's house on that night."
"And you were, sir?"
Derrington made a most unexpected reply. "No, I was not."
CHAPTER XVII
[LORD DERRINGTON EXPLAINS]
George was rather puzzled to reconcile the apparent contradiction in Derrington's speech. The old gentleman saw his bewilderment, and before the young man could speak he anticipated his question.
"You are perplexed," he said quietly. "I thought you would be. To explain myself clearly it will be better to tell you the whole story from the beginning."