"Mr. Pringle predeceased my uncle; his testimony would have been valueless on the main points, inasmuch as he did no more than add this codicil to the will, which had been executed eighteen months before. But it would have gone to prove that Mr Tracy obviously chose that I should be kept in ignorance of the disposition of his money. He ordered me from the room, as I have said, before Mr. Pringle opened the will and read it to him, as the old lawyer told me afterwards, at my uncle's request. 'And his mind,' he added, 'was remarkably clear.'
"I have now shown you how false is the assertion that I brought a lawyer to my uncle's death bed, to reverse his will in my favor. It had been signed and attested eighteen months before, without my having any knowledge of its provisions. As to the second signature, which my cousin was foolish enough, at first, to dispute—if proved to be a forgery it would only affect his legacy of twenty thousand pounds!
"The world has been very ready to believe that I am a blackguard; therefore I have kept aloof, alike from friends and foes. I will neither conciliate the latter, nor oblige the former to declare themselves for me, until my name is cleared of this foul charge in the open court of law.
"When I heard I was my uncle's heir, my first Quixotic idea was to divide the fortune with Giles. That idea, of course, I soon dismissed, not alone on account of his attitude towards me, but because I felt I should not be justified in contravening my uncle's express wishes as regarded the fortune which his industry had built up. Could I think that Mr. Tracy had formed an unjust estimate of Giles's character, I can honestly say I would, even now, give him half the estate, regardless of the misconstruction such an act would meet with from the good-natured world. But I have ascertained that my uncle had ample reason for deciding as he did. I say no more. The trial will come on in a few days. Everything in law is uncertain—except the costs! Eagles is due this week. If he dies on the passage, or that by other misadventure his evidence is not forthcoming, I shall be bitterly, grievously disappointed. Not that it will affect the issue of the case. I know that my adversary cannot upset the will; he has not, legally, a leg to stand on. But between technical and moral victory there is a wide difference. The attorney's testimony as to my uncle's anger against Giles, which led to his altering his will and sending for me—this, and his having been present at our interview, are of the utmost importance to me. Without this testimony I shall not feel that my character is completely cleared in the world's estimation. Is this over-sensitiveness? I do not think so; I am afraid you will. But at all events, whether I obtain this satisfaction or not, you will hear from me as soon as the trial is over. Until that time I must be silent; I can then, without fear of what man may say, ask you a question which I have not felt myself, hitherto, entitled to do.
"And so, my dear Miss Ballinger, for the present, farewell!
"Your very faithful friend,
"Ivor Lawrence."
The long strain was ended at last. Her joy found its vent in tears. What did anything signify now? Between the measured words, the self-imposed restraint, she read the truth—the truth which, she repeated to herself over and over again, she had known all along. Grace fell on her knees, there, beside the window, where she read the letter—the window which looked out on the rocky peaks and snowy summits of that wonderful region—and thanked God, child-like, for her deliverance from the sorest grief it is given humanity to suffer—disillusion.
When she arose, there was a light on her countenance which shone there all day. But those who loved her, knowing naught of the letter, only said to each other,
"How radiant Grace looks—quite like her old self. At last she is beginning to forget!"