'Well, grand-uncle darling, what have you to say to me?'
'Much, Mary—yet a few words may suffice,' he replied, as the lines faded out of his face. He had at first resolved to be very stern and irate with her; but he reserved all his bitterness for Falconer. 'Am I right when I say that I have been given to understand that Mr. Falconer has forgotten his place as a guest in my house, and dared to address you surreptitiously in language other than a mere friend or guest may do?'
At this question, so sententiously put, Mary blushed painfully, and then grew very pale indeed, for her heart was yet vibrating with its new-found joy, and the memory of that kiss, the first that was ever given her by any man save old Sir Piers himself.
'Has he attempted to win for himself that affection which should belong to another?'
'Oh, grand-uncle, what do you mean?' asked Mary piteously, and feeling quite overwhelmed.
'What I ask, Mary; and I wish you to know, further, that he is every way unworthy the consideration of any girl—wholly unworthy the kindness I have wasted on him.'
'Unworthy!' repeated Mary, faintly; and yet her heart rebelled, for she now recognised the malevolent influence of Hew.
'I have other views for your future, as you know, dear Mary—views long cherished and most dear to me, and I am not going to have my plans and prospects marred by a fortune-hunting subaltern and a romantic girl's folly. Understand me, Mary, and the power your father's will has given me over you and your fortune.'
Mary remained silent, but tears welled up in her eyes—tears that sprang from emotions of anger as much as annoyance and intense mortification.
'I don't object to the fellow because he is a subaltern, with little, if anything, more than his pay,' said Sir Piers, as if ashamed of using the military rank as an adjective; 'but I do object to this, Mary, as your guardian and only kinsman, in whose hands the whole of your fortune is vested, to bestow, so far as possible, on my heir of entail, who is to share it with you. But here, if all I am told is true, you have been tempted—you, with beauty and attractions that might win a coronet—you, with an inheritance, and certainly with a name, second to none in Scotland—to cast your lot, perhaps, with one destitute of position, save that which a commission gives him—one without family or friends either, so far as we know,' continued the general, musing, or talking himself into a fit of anger; 'as Hew has hinted, the first of his race—a gambler, too——'