"
"Very good; that's outspoken and honest, at any rate. And now, how about
our agreement? It's only a parole agreement, but an honest man's word is
as good as his bond."
"Our agreement!" repeated Valentine, with a puzzled expression of
countenance. "Upon my word, I forget."
"Ah, I thought it would come to that; I thought you would manage to
forget the terms agreed upon by you and me in the event of your marriage
with Charlotte Halliday. My memory is not so short as yours; and I can
swear to a conversation between you and me in this room, in which you
consented to my taking half the Haygarthian estate as the price of my
discovery and the fair reward of my labours."
"Yes," said Valentine, "I remember that conversation; and I remember
saying that the demand was a stiff one, but that I, as Charlotte's future
husband, would not oppose such a demand."
"You remember that?"
"I do; and if my wife is willing to consent to your terms, I will hold to
my promise."
"Your wife's consent is not wanted. She married you without a settlement,
and her rights are merged in yours. To all intents and purposes, _you_
are heir-at-law to John Haygarth's estate."
Valentine laughed aloud; the whole affair seemed a tremendous joke. He,
the homeless, penniless, friendless reprobate of but one year ago--he,
the son and heir of a man who had been always on the verge of social
shipwreck for want of five pounds--he, of all other men upon this earth,
claimant against the Crown for an estate worth one hundred thousand
pounds!
"The whole affair seems ridiculously improbable," he said.
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