"The letter which I wrote this morning," began Mr. Kelvin, struggling manfully with his weakness, "and which, by some strange mischance, appears to have been lost, was addressed to Miss Lloyd. It would appear, however, that my cousin, Olive Deane, who was certainly cognisant of most of the circumstances of the case, has told you what were the contents of the letter. There are certain other circumstances, however, of which as yet you know nothing, and it is of these that I am now here to speak."
He paused for a moment or two to gather breath, and to moisten his lips again with the cordial.
"I presume Miss Deane has told you," he went on, "that while recently wading through some of the late Mr. Lloyd's papers, I came across certain documents which prove conclusively that Miss Lloyd is only that gentleman's adopted daughter, and that, consequently, there being no will, she is not the heiress to his property. Is not that, may I ask, what Miss Deane has told you?"
"That is precisely what Miss Deane told us," said Lady Dudgeon; "and I hope, with all my heart, that you are now come to tell us that it's all a mistake, and that our dear Eleanor is Miss Lloyd after all."
"Hear, hear!" cried Sir Thomas, as if from the back benches of the House.
"I am sorry to say that what Miss Deane told you is perfectly true," said Kelvin. "There is no possibility of mistake as to the main facts of the case."
"Dear, dear! what a pity--what a very great pity!" interposed the baronet.
"You may remember, Sir Thomas," resumed Kelvin, "that some little time after Mr. Lloyd's death, I once or twice mentioned to you that amongst his papers I had not been able to find any clue as to where Miss Lloyd was either born or baptized. It was requisite, before taking out letters of administration, that I should have some trustworthy information on this point; but there being no particular hurry in the matter, and I being busy at the time with other important work, one week went on after another without my making any serious effort to supply the necessary link. Still, when the discovery did come, it was as great a surprise to me as it can possibly have been to any of you."
"Then you think there is not the slightest possibility of there being any mistake in the matter?" said her ladyship.
"I have in my possession a document, written and signed by Jacob Lloyd himself, in which he states that the young lady, supposed to be his daughter, was merely adopted by himself and his wife in her infancy."