Clarence Plantagenet recoiled in disgust.
"I don't understand you," he said. "You must be crazy."
Ben was not obliged to vindicate his sanity, for his uncle, who had hitherto remained silent, now spoke.
"You can come in, if you are Benjamin Baker, of Sunderland."
"Thank you, Uncle Nicholas," said Ben.
"Is he my cousin?" asked Plantagenet of his father, in evident discomposure.
"Yes, I presume so. His mother is my sister."
"Did you send for him, pa?"
"No."