That Stick | Page 6

brother inherited the title.'
'Then at least I am an Honourable!' exclaimed Mrs. Morton.
'I am afraid not, Mrs. Morton. I know of no precedent for such honours
being bestowed on a relict; but as I understand that Lord Northmoor is
no longer in his first youth, your son might succeed to the title, and, in
that case, his sisters might be'--he paused for a word--'ennobled.'
'Then does not it really make any difference to us?' exclaimed Mrs.
Morton.
'That would rest in the bosom of his lordship,' said Mr. Rollstone
solemnly.
'I declare it is an awful shame,' burst out Ida, while Constance cooed
'Dear uncle!'
'Hush, hush, Ida!' said her mother. 'Your uncle has always treated us
handsomely, and we have every reason to expect that he will continue
to do so.'

'He ought to have us to live with him in his house in London, and take
us to Court,' said Ida. 'Oh, Mr. Rollstone, is he not bound to do that?'
And Constance breathed, 'How delicious!'
Mr. Rollstone perhaps had his doubts of the figures Mrs. and Miss
Morton would cut in society, but he contented himself with saying, 'It
may be well to moderate your expectations, Miss Ida, and to remember
that Lord Northmoor is not compulsorily bound to consult any interests
but his own.'
'If he does not, it is perfectly abominable,' cried Mrs. Morton, 'towards
his poor, only brother's children, with Herbert his next heir-apparent.'
'Heir-presumptuous,' solemnly corrected Mr. Rollstone, at which Ida
looked at Constance, but Constance respected Rosie's feelings, and
would not return her sister's glance, only blushed, and sniggered.
'Heir-apparent is only the eldest son, who cannot be displaced by any
contingency.'
'And there's a horrid, little, artful school teacher, who drew him in years
ago--before I was married even,' said Mrs. Morton. 'No doubt she will
try to keep him now. Most likely she always knew what was going to
happen. Cannot he be set free from the entanglement?'
'Oh!' gasped Constance.
'That is serious,' observed Mr. Rollstone gravely. 'It would be an
unfortunate commencement to have an action for breach of promise of
marriage.'
'She would never dare,' said Mrs. Morton. 'She is as poor as a rat, and
could not do it!'
'Well, Mrs. Morton,' said Mr. Rollstone, 'if I may be allowed to tender
my poor advice, it would be that you should be very cautious and
careful not to give any offence to his lordship, or to utter what might be

reported to him in a sinister manner.'
'Oh, I know every one has enemies!' said Mrs. Morton, tossing her
head.
After this disappointment there was rather less interest displayed when
Mr. Rollstone proceeded to track out and explain the whole Northmoor
pedigree, from the great lawyer, Sir Michael Morton, who had gained
the peerage, down to the failure of the direct line, tracing the son from
whom Francis and Charles Morton were descended. Certainly Miss
Marshall must have been wonderfully foresighted if she had engaged
herself with a view to the succession, for at the time it began, the last
Lord Northmoor had two sons and a brother living! There was also a
daughter, the Honourable Bertha Augusta.
'Is she married?' demanded Mrs. Morton.
'It is not marked here, and if it had been mentioned in the papers, I
should not have failed to record it.'
'And how old is she?'
'The author of this peerage would never be guilty of the solecism of
recording a lady's age,' said Mr. Rollstone gravely; 'but as the
Honourable Arthur was born in 1848, and the Honourable Michael in
1850, we may infer that the young lady is no longer in her first youth.'
'And not married? Nearly Fr--Lord Northmoor's age. She must be an
old cat who will set her mind on marrying him,' sighed Mrs. Morton,
'and will make him cut all his own relations.'
'Then Mary Marshall might be the better lookout,' said Ida.
'She could never be unkind,' breathed little Constance.
'There is no knowing,' said Mr. Rollstone oracularly; 'but the result of
my observations has been that the true high-bred aristocracy are usually
far more affable and condescending than those elevated from a lower

rank.'
'Oh, I do hope for Miss Marshall,' said Constance in a whisper to Rose.
'Nasty old thing--a horrid old governess,' returned Ida; and they tittered,
scarcely pausing to hear Mr. Rollstone's announcement of the discovery
that he had entered the marriage in 1879 of the Honourable Arthur
Michael to Lady Adela Emily, only daughter of the Earl of Arlington,
and the death of the said Honourable Arthur by a carriage accident four
years later.
Then Herbert tumbled in, bringing a scent of tea and tar, and was
greeted with an imploring injunction to brush his hair and wash his
hands--both