"She did, sir; but she didn't like it for all that. It was a bit of revenge, I should say, sir."
"Partly, Elkington, perhaps; but she and her brother raised money on it, too."
He then told Elkington a little of what he had heard, in which the old man was deeply interested.
"Was the letter what you wanted, sir? I mean was it worth having?"
"To a certain extent, Elkington, but those two rogues had blotted out the most important word, lest I should ever see it."
"The rascals!" old Elkington exclaimed. "Well, well; I'm not surprised at anything that woman did."
The old man insisted on going with the Captain, as he called him, to the station, and stood respectfully on the platform with his hat in his hand as the train moved off.
Kenneth Fortescue did not see that he could do anything further in the matter at present, nor indeed had he either time or opportunity to make any other attempt to solve the mystery of his birth.
He was now at the head of a large and important branch of a great fire insurance company, and had much business to transact. How could he neglect his only means of livelihood, in order to attempt to investigate a matter which baffled the legal mind of so clever a man as Mr. Northcourt?
Therefore, as the months went by, and brought with them a continuous stream of business engagements that filled up the moments of a busy life, there was left little time for thought or for brooding over the past. It was only when he had returned to his dull little sitting-room, and was resting by the fire for a short time before beginning his evening's work, that his thoughts would wander, in spite of himself, to Daisy Bank.