Carolina by instinct rode to an elevation which commanded a view of the pine forests of Guildford.
"How much do I own?" she asked.
"As far as you can see in that direction. Over here your property runs into ours just where you see that broad gap."
"Why don't you rebuild Sunnymede?"
"No money!" he said, with a shrug.
"You have plenty of fallen timber and acres of stumpage to sell to the patent turpentine people."
"I don't know. I have never heard it discussed. We wouldn't sell to Yankees. We feel that we wouldn't have come to grief with the terrapin affair if we had been dealing with Southerners."
"Who are there to discuss? Who owns it with you?" asked Carolina, calmly ignoring the absurdity of his remarks.
"My brother and sister--" He paused abruptly, and then said: "You are sure to hear it from others, so I will tell you myself. The La Grange family skeleton shall be shown to you by no less a hand than my own! My brother has made a very--I hardly know what to call it. It is an unfortunate marriage, since no one knows who the girl is. When you saw me in New York, I was hoping to prevent their marriage, but it was too late. They had eloped and had been married immediately on arriving in New York. As soon as her aunt, with whom she lived, learned that Flower had eloped with my brother, she sent for me. She had been a great invalid, and the excitement had upset her so that when I arrived she looked as if she had not an hour to live. She caught me by the arm and said: 'Flower must not marry a La Grange. She is not my niece nor any relative of mine. Her mother was--' and with that her speech failed. She struggled as I never saw a being struggle to speak the one word more,--the one word needful,--and, failing, she fell back against her pillow--dead!"
Carolina's face showed her horror. He felt soothed by her understanding and went on, in a low, pained voice.