the first which either had
received since their marriage.

Knight cut open the envelopes slowly, one after the other, and made no
comment. Annesley could not help wondering if the Countess had written,
for an involuntary glance had made her sure that one of Knight's letters
was from a woman: a purple envelope with a purple monogram and a blob of
purple wax sealed with a crown. He read all three, put them back into
their envelopes, rose, dropped them into the fire, watched them burn to
ashes, and quietly returned to his seat. Then, as if really interested,
he tore the wrapping off the Torquay _Messenger_.

"Now we shall see ourselves in print!" he said, and a moment later was
reading to Annesley an account of "the two most interesting guests the
Knowle Hotel has entertained this season." Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Smith were
described with enthusiasm. They were young and handsome. He was immensely
rich, she was "highly connected" as well as beautiful, having been a
Miss Annesley Grayle, related on her mother's side to the Earl of
Annesley-Seton.

The modesty of the young couple was so great, however, that, though the
bridegroom was a millionaire well known in his adopted country, America,
and the bride quite closely linked with his lordship's family, they had
refused to make their presence in the neighbourhood known to the Earl and
Lady. Instead they had visited Valley House with a crowd of tourists on a
public day, expressing the opinion to a representative of the _Messenger_
that it would be "intrusive" to present themselves to Lord and Lady
Annesley-Seton. They were spending their honeymoon in Devonshire, and
might find, during their motor tours, a suitable country place to buy or
rent.

In any case, they would look for a house in which to settle on their
return to London.

"Good for Milton Savage," laughed Knight. "Now we'll lie low, and see
what will happen."

Annesley thought that nothing would happen; but she was wrong. The next
morning a note came by hand for Mrs. Nelson Smith, brought by a footman
on a bicycle.

The note was from Lady Annesley-Seton.

CHAPTER X

BEGINNING OF THE SERIES

No man who had not known the seamy side of life could have guessed the
effect of Milton Savage's paragraph upon the minds of Lord and Lady
Annesley-Seton.

"I told you if you bet against me you would bet wrong," Knight said, when
the astonished girl handed the letter across the breakfast table. Even he
had hardly