"Have you seen him lately?"
"No, not for ages; he has lost all his money, poor fellow, and is as poor as a church mouse. I don't know what has become of him."
Lord Kenmore seemed relieved to hear this, and there followed a long discussion on the relative merits of Ziga and Paget printing-papers, which lasted until the gong summoned Lord Kenmore to the dining-room.
"Will you put these books by, Marjorie?" said Lady Violet. "It was too bad of him to run down poor Captain Fortescue."
Marjorie saw no more of Lord Kenmore, for he had gone when she returned from her afternoon walk. Lady Violet seemed tired and out of spirits, she thought; perhaps she had felt the parting with him, it was only natural that she should; and Marjorie devoted herself to her more than ever that evening, and was determined to do all that she could to cheer her. She had such a light heart herself that it was not a difficult task to be bright and cheerful.
[CHAPTER XXII]
MR. NORTHCOURT'S OPINION
WHEN Kenneth Fortescue had left Marjorie at the door of Colwyn House, he blamed himself very much that, for even a single moment, he had allowed his feelings to be seen by her. Perhaps she had not noticed; he hoped not. For what right had he, a practically homeless and penniless man, to allow any girl to see that he loved her, or to attempt, in however small a degree, to win her love in return? It was cruel, utterly heartless and unworthy of a man, he said to himself.
For what hope of future happiness could such love ever bring? As long as he was so heavily in debt to her mother (for he refused to allow that the letter she had found had in any way cancelled that obligation) every penny of his salary, beyond what he actually required for food and clothing and the other small necessaries of life, must be sent to Rosthwaite. He intended to send it in future at the end of each year, and as his salary was a fairly good one, he hoped to be able to remit a substantial sum the following Christmas. But four thousand pounds was a considerable amount to reach, and he realized that it would take years before he could return it all, if indeed his life were spared long enough for him to do so. Meanwhile the thought of a home of his own was one of the many things denied to him, one of the indulgences which he had told Mrs. Douglas that he should renounce.
Moreover, as he travelled back to Birmingham, whilst he could not help a feeling of satisfaction that his origin was not so humble as he had imagined, yet at the same time, he reflected that his own father, whether he were a lord or not, was by no means a father of whom he could be proud. His foster-father, poor common miner though he was, had shown far more feeling than his real father, and had behaved in a manner which was vastly superior to that of the heartless man who had deserted his own helpless child, and had left him to the care of complete strangers. Still, if only that word had not been blotted out of the letter, he might have been able to prove his claim on that father's consideration, and might have compelled him to reinstate him in the position which was his by birth.