“Well, we will say to-morrow morning at daybreak.”
“Where will you land him?”
“At Cherbourg or one of the villages near; most likely at Cherbourg if the coast is clear, for I have friends there who work with me.”
They went to an hotel for the night. In the morning Will gave Lucien a small package containing a very handsome gold watch and chain which he had bought in London.
“Give this to Marie from me,” he said; “I promised that she should have one for her wedding-day. Here are a thousand francs of French money, which will carry you comfortably from Cherbourg to Verdun and give you a bit of a start there. No, you need not refuse it, I am a rich man, and can afford it without in the least hurting myself. Give my love to Marie,” he said, “and tell her that I shall never forget her kindness.”
Lucien was profuse in his gratitude, but Will cut him short by hurrying him down to the boat, which was lying at the [pg 316]quay with her sails already hoisted. Will watched the boat till it was well out to sea, and then took the next coach back to London, filled with pleasure that he had been able to carry out his plan and to repay the kindness that Marie had shown him.
He had given Lucien the address of his London agent, so that on his arrival at Verdun he could write him a letter saying how he had fared, and when he and Marie were to be married. This letter he received on his return from the next cruise. It contained the warmest thanks of Marie and her lover, and the information that they were to be married the following week, and that the young man had an offer of good employment in the town.
When he reached London, Will obtained the address of a respectable solicitor, and called upon him to ask his advice as to advertising to try to discover a family bearing the arms on his seal.
“I should advise you,” the lawyer said, “to leave the matter until you return from sea again. Questions of this sort always require a good deal of time to answer. You would have to be present to give information, and when the matter is taken up it should be pressed through vigorously. Of course there would be difficulties to face. The mere fact of this seal being in the possession of your father, that is, if he was your father, would not be sufficient to prove his identity, and there would be all sorts of investigations to make, which would, of course, take time. If you will leave the matter in my hands I will cause enquiries to be made as to the arms. That will probably only take a day or two, and it would perhaps be a satisfaction to you to know the family with which you might [pg 317]be connected. It will be in the subsequent steps that delays will occur.”
“Thank you, sir! I should certainly like to know, though I quite see that, as you say, it will be very difficult for me to establish my connection.”