"I, Aunt West? Why, what should I know of Lady Lancaster's husband?" exclaimed Leonora, wondering if her aunt's brain were not just a little turned.
"Why, my dear girl, who said anything about her husband? She's a dowager. The old Lord Lancaster has been dead these two years. Of course I meant the young heir."
"The old lady's son?" asked Leonora, irreverently.
"Her nephew, my dear. You know I told you just now that she never had a child."
"Oh, yes, I was very careless to forget that. I beg your pardon. So then it is her nephew who has been abroad?"
"Yes, or rather her husband's nephew," replied Mrs. West.
"Where has he been, aunt?" continued the girl, carelessly.
Mrs. West looked as if she thought Leonora had parted with her senses, if ever she had possessed any.
"Why, he has been to America, of course. Didn't he fetch you to England, Leonora? And hasn't he but just gone out of the room? Are you making fun of your old auntie, dear?"