It was five days later.

The funeral was over. Everything had been done decently and in order, and in the great drawing-room at Stanbrook, the shutters of which of late years had been rarely opened, a small company were assembled, by invitation of Mr. Piljoy, to hear the reading of the dead man\'s will.

Miss Baynard and Mrs. Budd sat together on one of the couches; a little way removed, in stately isolation, sat Mrs. Bullivant; while Mrs. Dace, the housekeeper, remained modestly in the background, with Andry Luce and two or three other old servants to keep her company.

The gentlemen comprised Mr. Herries, the vicar; Mr. Delafosse, Sir James Dalrymple, of Langrig, and Squire Staniforth, of Claypool; the two latter of whom, at Mr. Cortelyon\'s request, had agreed to act as trustees under his will. They were clear-headed, thoroughly practical men, with plenty of leisure on their hands, and, as such, had recommended themselves to the late Squire, who was their senior by more than a score years, and had known their fathers before them.

Mr. Piljoy sat by himself at the big oval table in the centre of the room. The will, as yet unopened, lay there in front of him.

When everybody had settled into their places and the door was finally shut, Mr. Piljoy cleared his voice, and, leaning forward a little with his clasped hands resting on the table, said, addressing the company at large: "Before breaking the seal of the document which I am here for the purpose of reading to you, I may just remark for the information of everybody, and in order to satisfy any curiosity which might otherwise be felt on the point, that this is not the first testament drawn up by me for the late Mr. Cortelyon. There was a much earlier will, the provisions of which, I need scarcely tell you, were of a widely different nature from those of the present one; but that will was destroyed at the time of the unhappy quarrel between father and son, of which, I daresay, most of those here have some cognizance. For the next few years no will of any kind was in existence, nor could Mr. Cortelyon be persuaded into making another till he found himself overtaken by illness of a very serious kind. I will now, with your permission, proceed to open and read the will."

Sir James tapped his snuff-box, opened it, offered it to his co-trustee, and then indulged himself with a large pinch. The servants in the background laid their heads together and whispered among themselves. Mrs. Bullivant tried to look as if the reading was a matter which in no way concerned her, and almost succeeded. Miss Baynard and Andry Luce alone knew what was coming. To the former the whole proceeding was fraught with heartfelt torture, from which she would fain have escaped had there been any way open for her to do so.

The will itself was enclosed in a sheet of parchment secured with two large black seals. These latter Mr. Piljoy did not break, but cut round them with his penknife and got at the contents that way. Pushing the envelope aside, he proceeded to unfold and straighten out the will; then, having settled his spectacles more firmly astride his nose, he gave a preliminary cough and turned over the first page.

Apparently, however, he had forgotten to how many pages the document extended, and in order to satisfy himself on the point, before beginning to read he turned the leaves over one by one--there were only five or six in all--till he came to the last one, on reaching which his eye instinctively travelled to the foot of it.

Next instant he gave a start and sprang to his feet, his eyes still glued to the bottom of the will. He looked dazed--thunderstruck--and well he might.

"What is the meaning of this?" he cried. "What devilry has been at work? The will is unsigned!"

And so, indeed, it proved to be. There was the space for the three signatures, those of the testator and the two witnesses, but the signatures themselves were wanting.

Over the scene that ensued we need not linger. The servants were told that they were no longer wanted, and went back to their duties terribly crestfallen. The legacies on which they had so surely counted seemed to have dissolved on a sudden into thin air.

For the first few minutes after the fatal announcement Mrs. Bullivant sat like an image of stony despair. So stunned was she that, for the time being, she seemed deprived of the power of coherent thought. She was roused, in part at least, by some words addressed by Sir James Dalrymple to Mr. Piljoy.

"Of course the will as it stands is wholly inoperative, still, Mr. Staniforth and I are a little curious with regard to its contents, so perhaps you won\'t mind devoting a minute or two to our enlightenment. There is no need for you to read out the different clauses; all we want is to be made acquainted with the main features of the document."

"Five minutes will suffice for that purpose," replied the lawyer. "To begin with, there are some half-dozen bequests, varying in amount, to as many old servants and dependents, with the details of which I need not trouble you. To the testator\'s old friend, Mr. Delafosse"--bowing to that gentleman--"are bequeathed sundry coins, medals, and other curios, a list of which will be found among the private papers of the deceased. Then I must not omit to mention that to each of you gentlemen, for your trouble in acting as trustees, is left the sum of one hundred and fifty guineas; and to Mr. Herries a similar sum for distribution among the deserving poor of the parish. With regard to his niece, Miss Baynard"--here he favored Nell with a bow--"the testator\'s instructions are that a sum of money be invested in her name in the public funds sufficient to bring her in an annual income of three hundred pounds, the which she shall enjoy for life, the principal at her demise to be divided among certain specified charitable institutions. To the Hon. Mrs. Bullivant"--a bow for that lady--"is left the sum of three thousand pounds in hard cash. Every thing else of which the testator may die possessed--including the Stanbrook and Barrowmead properties, another large estate on the borders of Yorkshire, and certain other smaller estates--is willed in trust to Gavin Bullivant, the son of the Hon. Mrs. Bullivant, on condition that on coming of age he adds to his present cognomen that of \'Cortelyon.\' Finally, I may mention that as regards the Stanbrook property Mrs. Bullivant is bequeathed a life-interest in the same."

He ceased, and Sir James and his friend stared at each other in sheer amazement, but in Mrs. Bullivant\'s presence they could not well give expression to what they thought. Mr. Staniforth was the first to break the silence.

"Both Sir James and I were under the impression that the late Mr. Cortelyon had a grandson. His only son died some few years ago, did he not, leaving behind him a widow and one child?"

"He did."

"And yet in your summary of the contents of the will you made no mention of either of their names."

"The widow died some time ago. There was no mention of the boy\'s name on my part for the very good reason that it is not included in the will. Mr. Cortelyon never forgave his son\'s marriage, and refused in any way to acknowledge his grandchild."

Again the two men looked at each other, and again they refrained from giving expression to the thoughts at work within them.

Then said Sir James: "An unsigned will is so much waste paper. In case no other will, duly executed, should turn up, what will happen?"

"Only one thing can happen. The case will resolve itself into one of intestacy, and everything--lock, stock, and barrel--will go to the heir-at-law, that is to say, to the grandson of whom mention has just been made."

The two gentlemen nodded. That was their own view exactly.

Miss Baynard had sat all this time without speaking or stirring. When Mr. Piljoy made the startling announcement that the will was without signature, she flashed a look at Andry Luce which seemed to ask in bewilderment, "What is the meaning of this?" But Andry, nursing his chin in the palm of one hand, was apparently staring straight before him, and did not, or would not, meet her eyes. When, however, Mrs. Dace and the others proceeded to leave the room, Andry, who was about to follow them, glanced at Nell, and, in obedience to a signal from her, resumed his seat.

Nell as was dumfounded as Mrs. Bullivant by the turn events had taken. She had not clearly comprehended what the result would be of the will being unsigned till she heard Mr. Piljoy\'s declaration that, in the event of no other will being found, everything would go to Evan as his grandfather\'s heir-at-law. Then a great gladness took possession of her, and her heart swelled with thankfulness.

But of a sudden, a shiver of apprehension ran through her. Mr. Staniforth was speaking:

"Have you any reason whatever, Mr. Piljoy, for supposing that any other will than this unsigned one is in existence?"

Not Miss Baynard only, but Mrs. Bullivant as well, awaited the lawyer\'s answer with strained breathlessness.

Mr. Piljoy shrugged his shoulders. "That, sir, is a question which just now I am hardly prepared to answer, and for this reason, that no one can be more mystified and puzzled by the turn affairs have taken this afternoon than I am. One supposition, and one only, suggests itself to me as tending in the slightest degree to elucidate the mystery. What that supposition is I will, with your permission, now proceed to explain."

He lay back in the big library chair, cleared his voice, and toyed with his spectacles for a few seconds before proceeding.

"In accordance with Mr. Cortelyon\'s instructions, his will was drawn up by me in duplicate. This was done as a provision of safety; in the event of any hitch or blunder occurring in the signing or witnessing of one document, the other would be available. Gout having laid me by the heels, I gave the duplicate wills into the charge of Mr. Tew, my managing clerk, who was just as competent to see to the signing and witnessing as I was. Here before me is the will which he next day brought back and handed to me for safe custody in the belief that it had been duly signed and witnessed; and here is the envelope that held it, sealed in two places with Mr. Cortelyon\'s own seal, and with the words, \'Ambrose Cortelyon--His Will\' written across the face of it with his own pen. Now, on consideration, it seems to me just possible that, through some mischance, the unsigned will got substituted for the signed one in the envelope. If my supposition has any basis of fact, the question that naturally follows is, What became of the duplicate will? Is there any one present, who is in a position to throw any light on the point involved?"

Whether consciously or unconsciously, as he asked the question his eyes fixed themselves on Miss Baynard. The eyes of every one there followed those of Mr. Piljoy.

Nell stood up, her cheeks warmed with the fine glow of color. "My uncle\'s secretary, Andry Luce, who is now present, was, I believe, in the room when the will was signed."

"Then he will doubtless be willing............