You allowed the sense of
that triumph to intoxicate you. In a business which of all businesses
within the range of man's intellect most requires deliberation and
sobriety, you went to work in a fever of haste and excitement. Instead
of searching out _all_ the descendants of Christian Meynell, you pounce
upon the first descendant who comes to hand, and elect her, at your own
pleasure, sole heiress to the estate of the deceased John Haygarth.
You forget that there may be other descendants of the said Christian
Meynell--descendants standing prior to your wife Charlotte in the line of
succession."
"I can imagine no such descendants existing," said Valentine, with a
puzzled manner. "You seem to have made yourself master of our business;
but there is one point upon which you are mistaken. George Sheldon and I
did not go to work in a fever of haste. We did fully and thoroughly
examine the pedigree of that person whom we--and legal advisers of
considerable standing--believe to be the sole heir-at-law to the Haygarth
estate; and we took good care to convince ourselves that there was no
other claimant in existence."
"What do you call convincing yourselves?"
"Christian Meynell had only three children--Samuel, Susan, and Charlotte.
The last, Charlotte, married James Halliday, of Newhall and Hyley farms;
the other two died unmarried."
"How do you know that? How do you propose to demonstrate that Samuel and
Susan Meynell died unmarried?"
"Susan was buried in her maiden name.
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