Then came the great surprise of the boy’s life, which changed his condition from one of dependency into affluence.  Aunt Jane died and it was discovered that she had no right to transfer the estate to one of her nieces, because by the terms of his uncle’s deed to her the property reverted on her death to Kenneth himself.  Louise Merrick, Beth DeGraf and Patsy Doyle, the three nieces, were really glad that the boy inherited Elmhurst, and returned to their eastern homes with the most cordial friendship existing between them all.

Kenneth was left the master of Elmhurst and possessor of considerable wealth besides, and at first he could scarcely realize his good fortune or decide how to take advantage of it.  He had one good and helpful friend, an old lawyer named Watson, who had not only been a friend of his uncle, and the confidant of Aunt Jane for years, but had taken an interest in the lonely boy and had done his best to make his life brighter and happier.

When Kenneth became a landed proprietor Mr. Watson was appointed his guardian, and the genial old lawyer abandoned the practice of law and henceforth devoted himself to his ward’s welfare and service.

They made a trip to Europe together, where Kenneth studied the pictures of the old masters and obtained instruction from some of the foremost living artists of the old world.

It was while they were abroad, a year before the time of this story, that the boy met Aunt Jane’s three nieces again.  They were “doing” Europe in company with a wealthy bachelor uncle, John Merrick, a generous, kind-hearted and simple-minded old gentleman who had taken the girls “under his wing,” as he expressed it, and had really provided for their worldly welfare better than Aunt Jane, his sister, could have done.

This “Uncle John” was indeed a whimsical character, as the reader will presently perceive.  Becoming a millionaire “against his will,” as he declared, he had learned to know his nieces late in life, and found in their society so much to enjoy that he was now wholly devoted to their interests.  His one friend was Major Doyle, Patsy’s father, a dignified but agreeable old Irish gentleman who amused Uncle John nearly as much as the girls delighted him.  The Major managed John Merrick’s financial affairs, leaving the old millionaire free to do as he pleased.

So he took the girls to Europe, and the four had a fine, adventurous trip, as may be imagined.  Kenneth and Mr. Watson met them in Sicily, and afterward in the Italian cities, and the friendship already existing between the young people was more firmly cemented than before.

In the spring Kenneth returned with his guardian to Elmhurst, where he devoted himself largely to painting from the sketches he had made abroad, while Mr. Watson sat beside him comfortably smoking his pipe and reading his favorite authors.  The elder man was contented enough in his condition, but the boy grew restless and impatient, and longed for social intercourse.  His nature was moody and he had a tendency to brood if left much to himself.