The Mysterious Key and What it Opened
Chapter I
THE PROPHECY
Trevlyn lands and Trevlyn gold,
Heir nor heiress e'er shall hold,
Undisturbed, till, spite of rust,
Truth is found in Trevlyn dust.
"This is the third time I've found you poring over that old rhyme. Whatis the charm, Richard? Not its poetry I fancy." And the young wife laida slender hand on the yellow, time-worn page where, in Old English text,appeared the lines she laughed at.
Richard Trevlyn looked up with a smile and threw by the book, as ifannoyed at being discovered reading it. Drawing his wife's hand throughhis own, he led her back to her couch, folded the soft shawls about her,and, sitting in a low chair beside her, said in a cheerful tone, thoughhis eyes betrayed some hidden care, "My love, that book is a history ofour family for centuries, and that old prophecy has never yet beenfulfilled, except the 'heir and heiress' line. I am the last Trevlyn,and as the time draws near when my child shall be born, I naturallythink of his future, and hope he will enjoy his heritage in peace."
"God grant it!" softly echoed Lady Trevlyn, adding, with a look askanceat the old book, "I read that history once, and fancied it must be aromance, such dreadful things are recorded in it. Is it all true,Richard?"
"Yes, dear. I wish it was not. Ours has been a wild, unhappy race tillthe last generation or two. The stormy nature came in with old SirRalph, the fierce Norman knight, who killed his only son in a fit ofwrath, by a blow with his steel gauntlet, because the boy's strong willwould not yield to his."
"Yes, I remember, and his daughter Clotilde held the castle during asiege, and married her cousin, Count Hugo. 'Tis a warlike race, and Ilike it in spite of the mad deeds."
"Married her cousin! That has been the bane of our family in times past.Being too proud to mate elsewhere, we have kept to ourselves till idiotsand lunatics began to appear. My father was the first who broke the lawamong us, and I followed his example: choosing the freshest, sturdiestflower I could find to transplant into our exhausted soil."
"I hope it will do you honor by blossoming bravely. I never forget thatyou took me from a very humble home, and have made me the happiest wifein England."
"And I never forget that you, a girl of eighteen, consented to leaveyour hills and come to cheer the long-deserted house of an old man likeme," returned her husband fondly.
"Nay, don't call yourself old, Richard; you are only forty-five, theboldest, handsomest man in Warwickshire. But lately you look worried;what is it? Tell me, and let me advise or comfort you."
"It is nothing, Alice, except my natural anxiety for you—Well,Kingston, what do you want?"
Trevlyn's tender tones grew sharp as he addressed the entering servant,and the smile on his lips vanished, leaving them dry and white as heglanced at the card he handed him. An instant he stood staring at it,then asked, "Is the man here?"
"In the library, sir."
"I'll come."
Flinging the card into the fire, he watched it turn to ashes before hespoke, with averted eyes: "Only some annoying business, love; I shallsoon be with you again. Lie and rest till I come."
With a hasty caress he left her, but as he passed a mirror, his wife sawan expression of intense excitement in his face. She said nothing, andlay motionless for several minutes evidently struggling with some strongimpulse.
"He is ill and anxious, but hides it from me; I have a rig