imself called by his title once more without a
touch of shame.

The secret of Lady Maulevrier's sin had been so faithfully kept by the
two young men that neither of her granddaughters knew the true story of
that mysterious person whom Mary had first heard of as James Steadman's
uncle. She and Lesbia both knew that there were painful circumstances of
some kind connected with this man's existence, his hidden life in the
old house at Fellside; but they were both content to learn no more.
Respect for their grandmother's memory, sorrowful affection for the
dead, prevailed over natural curiosity.

Early in February Maulevrier sent decorators and upholsterers into the
old house in Curzon Street, which was ready before the middle of May to
receive his lordship and his young wife, the girlish daughter of a
Florentine nobleman, a gazelle-eyed Italian, with a voice whose every
tone was music, and with the gentlest, shyest, most engaging manners of
any girl in Florence. Lady Lesbia, strangely subdued and changed by the
griefs and humiliations of her last campaign, had been her brother's
counsellor and confidante throughout his wooing of his fair Italian
bride. She was to spend the season under her brother's roof, to help to
initiate young Lady Maulevrier in the mysterious rites of London
society, and to warn her of those rocks and shoals which had wrecked her
own fortunes.

The month of May brought a son and heir to Lord Hartfield; and it was
not till after his birth that Mary, Countess of Hartfield, was presented
to her sovereign, and began her career as a matron of rank and standing,
very much overpowered by the weight of her honours, and looking forward
with delight to the end of the season and a flight to Argyleshire with
her husband and baby.

THE END.

End of Project Gutenberg's Phantom Fortune, A Novel, by M. E. Braddon

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHANTOM FORTUNE, A NOVEL ***

***** This file should be named 10905.txt or 10905.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.net/1/0/9/0/10905/

Produced by Jonathan Ingram and PG Distributed Proofreaders

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without