'Sorry to hear it: may I inquire what it is about—or from whom it comes?'
'It is a letter from Mr. Kippilaw, senior,' replied Lord Fettercairn, darting from under his shaggy eyebrows, and over the rim of his pince-nez, a glance at Shafto, so keen and inquiring that the latter felt his heart stand still; yet summoning his constitutional insolence to his aid, he asked:
'And what is the old pump up to now?'
'Shafto!' exclaimed Lady Fettercairn, who detested slang.
'He refers to something that may prove very unpleasant,' said the Peer, carefully smoothing out the letter.
'To—to me?'
'Yes—and to me, I regret to say, most certainly. He says there are many matters on which he wishes to confer with me personally; among others, "A visit from an old Highland woman, named Madelon Galbraith, a native of Ross-shire, who was nurse to Mr. Lennard's wife in her infancy, and also to their son. Her revelations, conjoined with other things, now startle me, as they are most strange, and must be probed to the bottom." He also says that this woman—Madelon Galbraith—visited Craigengowan in my absence. Did such a visit take place?'
'Yes,' said Lady Fettercairn.
'And she was expelled very roughly.'
'Well—I believe so—rather.'