The Baronet was very gracious, however, and gave him a hearty welcome.

“I’m uncommonly glad to see you, my dear Fenton,” he said, “Indeed, I have been pleased to see worse fellows than you lately, since this infernal gout has laid me up in this dreary old place.  The house is pretty full now, I am happy to say.  I have friends who will come to shoot my partridges, though they won’t remember my solitude in a charitable spirit before the first of September.  You’ll stop and dine, I hope; or perhaps you can put up here altogether for a week or so.  My housekeeper shall find you a good room; and I can promise you pleasant company.  Say yes, now, like a good fellow, and I’ll send a man to Lidford for your traps.”

“Thanks—­no.  You are very kind; but I am staying with my sister for a few days, and must return to town before the end of the week.  The fact of the matter is, Sir David, I have come here to-day to ask you for some explanation of your conduct at our last interview.  I don’t want to say anything rude or disagreeable; for I am quite willing to believe that you felt kindly towards me, even at the time when you deceived me.  I suppose there are some positions in which a man can hardly expect fair play, and that mine was such a position.  But you certainly did deceive me, Sir David, and grossly.”

“That last is rather an unpleasant word, Mr. Fenton.  In what respect did I deceive you?”

“I came here on purpose to ask you if Mr. Holbrook, the man who robbed me of my promised wife, were a friend of yours, and you denied all knowledge of him.”

“Granted.  And what then, my dear sir?”

“When I came to ask you that question, I had no special reason for supposing this Mr. Holbrook was known to you.  It only struck me that, being a stranger in the village, as the result of my inquiries had proved to me, he might be one of your many visitors.  I knew at that time that Mr. Holbrook had taken his wife to a farm-house in Hampshire immediately after their marriage—­a house lent to him by a friend; but I did not know that you had any estate in that county.  I have been to Hampshire since then, and have found Mrs. Holbrook at the Grange, near Crosber—­in your house.”

“You have found her!  Well, Mr. Fenton, the circumstantial evidence is too strong for me, so I must plead guilty.  Yes; I did deceive you when I told you that Holbrook was unknown to me; but I pledged my word to keep his secret—­to give you no clue, should you ever happen to question me, that could lead to your discovery of your lost love’s whereabouts.  It was considered, I conclude, that any meeting between you two must needs result unpleasantly.  At any rate, there was a strong desire to avoid you; and in common duty to my friend I was compelled to respect that desire.”

“Not a very manly wish on the part of my successful rival,” said Gilbert.

“It may have been the lady’s wish rather than Mr. Holbrook’s.”