‘Don’t tell me anything I ought not to keep secret,’ he said; and it gave me confidence in him at once.
‘I will not,’ I returned. ‘The secret is purely my own. Whatever crime there is in it, was past punishment long before I was born; and it was committed against, not by my family. But it is rather a long story, and I hope I shall not be tedious.’
He assured me of his perfect leisure.
I told him everything, from my earliest memory, which bore on the discovery I had at length made. He soon showed signs of interest; and when I had ended the tale with the facts of the preceding night, he silently rose and walked about the room. After a few moments, he said:
‘And what do you mean to do, Mr Cumbermede?’
‘Nothing,’ I answered, ‘so long as Sir Giles is alive. He was kind to me when I was a boy.’
He came up behind me where I was seated, and laid his hand gently on my head; then, without a word, resumed his walk.
‘And if you survive him, what then?’
‘Then I must be guided partly by circumstances,’ I said.
‘And what do you want of me?’