"Van Brunt! Humph! And what was he?"
"He was a farmer, Sir."
"A Dutch farmer, eh? How came you to have anything to do with him?"
"He managed my aunt's farm, and was a great deal in the house."
"He was? And what makes you call this other your brother?"
"His sister called me her sister and that makes me his."
"It is very absurd," said Lady Keith, "when they are nothing at all to her, and ought not to be."
"It seems, then, you did not find a friend in your aunt,
Ellen, eh?"
"I don't think she loved me much," said Ellen, in a low voice.
"I am very glad we are clear of obligation on her score," said
Mrs. Lindsay.