"I clasped Fred's hand and I thanked him for what he had done for me that day, right in the teeth of the Russian guns.
"'Freddy, old chap, you're a trump,' I said, 'and, if ever I be blessed with an heir to Brammerton and Hazelmere, I would wish nothing better than that he should marry a Granton.'
"'And nothing would please me so much, Harry, old boy,—as that a maid of Granton should wed a Brammerton,' he answered earnestly.
"'Then it's a go,' said I, full of enthusiasm.
"'It's a go, Harry.'
"And we raised our winecups, such as they were.
"'Your daughter, Fred!'
"'Your heir, Harry!'
"'The future Earl and Countess of Brammerton and Hazelmere,' we chimed together.
"Our winecups clinked and the bond was made;—made for all time, George."