"A strange, eventful history, indeed," said Gerald; "so strange, that I hardly know how to begin it."
His tone was grave enough now. He was, in truth, puzzled how and where to begin his revelations.
"Once on a time," he said, at last--"that is to say, some five or six months ago--I was living very quietly in a little town in the south of France, when, one fine morning, I was summoned post haste to London. A certain lady, an old friend of yours. Miss Bellamy by name, was the person whose imperative summons I felt bound to obey."
"Do you know Miss Bellamy?" asked Eleanor, opening her eyes very wide indeed.
"Miss Bellamy used to buy me sweets when I was a very small shaver indeed. In fact, there is a legend current that she assisted at the cutting of my first tooth."
"But why did she send for you all the way from France?"
"Some seven weeks previously, she had sent through the post, to Mr. Kelvin at Pembridge, the very sealed packet about which so much has been said to-day. That packet had been placed by Mr. Lloyd in her hands many years before, with a request that she would keep it carefully by her till after his decease. When that event took place, Miss Bellamy was at Guernsey, and six months elapsed before the packet reached the hands of Mr. Kelvin. Immediately on receipt of it, his duty was to communicate to you those facts of which you were allowed to remain in ignorance till this morning. Finding, after a lapse of several weeks, that Mr. Kelvin had done nothing in the affair, Miss Bellamy sent for me, and asked me to go down to Pembridge, and ascertain from Kelvin the reason of his unaccountable inaction. I went down to Pembridge and saw Kelvin--whom I had once met years previously; but, singular as it may seem, I said nothing to him of the one particular object that had taken me there. At that time Olive Deane was living with her cousin, and it was suggested by her that, as Sir Thomas Dudgeon happened to be in want of a secretary, the place might perhaps be one that would suit me. She suggested, too, that I, being a poor man, might improve my fortunes by marrying an heiress, the heiress in question being Miss Eleanor Lloyd. For reasons of my own, I appeared to fall in with her views. The situation was procured for me, and I made my appearance at Stammars.
"One of my reasons for acting thus was my desire to see and be near you. I had heard a great deal about you at different times, and I wanted to make your acquaintance, and judge you for myself before letting you know that I was in any way mixed up with your private affairs. I wanted, in fact, to meet you as an utter stranger."
"Before you go any further," said Eleanor, "I should like to ask you one question. When you first came down to Pembridge, did you know that I was not Mr. Lloyd's daughter, and, consequently, not entitled to his property?"
"I did know it."