"Yes!"
"I knew as much—it was needless to ask," replied Sir Lucius, in tremulous tones; something glistened in his eye. He rested an arm on Jack's shoulder and looked into his face. "My dear boy, your mother was my youngest sister," he added. "And you are my nephew!"
A rush of color dyed Jack's cheeks, and he stared in amazement; he could not grasp the meaning of what he had just heard.
"You my uncle, Sir Lucius?" he asked, hoarsely.
"Yes, your uncle!"
"By Jove, another mystery!" gasped Jimmie. "It knocks me breathless! I don't know what to make of it—it beats the novels that wind up with the discovery of the lost heir. At all events, Jack, you seem to be in luck. I'm awfully glad!"
"I—I'm afraid I don't quite understand," said Jack. "I never suspected anything of the sort, though I remember that my mother rarely spoke of her early life."
"That was her secret," replied Sir Lucius, "and she intended that it should be revealed to you after her death. Read these; they will tell you all!"
Sir Lucius produced three papers from his pocket. Jack took them, and he uttered an exclamation of astonishment as he saw that one was a certificate of his mother's marriage, and another one of his own birth. The third paper was a letter of a dozen closely written sheets, in the dead hand that was so familiar to him. As he read on, his face showed various emotions.
"My poor mother, how she suffered!" he said when he had finished the letter. "It is a strange story, Sir Lucius. So my mother was your sister, and Victor Nevill was the son of another sister, which makes him my cousin. My mother knew all these things, and yet she never told me!"