I had some business to transact, and
put up at the Grand, as I usually do, and dined with some friends.'
"'Would you tell us at what time you returned to Brockelsby Castle?'
"'I think it must have been about eleven o'clock. It is a seven-mile
drive from here.'
"'I believe,' said the coroner after a slight pause, during which the
attention of all the spectators was riveted upon the handsome figure of
the young man as he stood in the witness-box, the very personification
of a high-bred gentleman, 'I believe that I am right in stating that
there was an unfortunate legal dispute between your lordship and your
brother?'
"'That is so.'
"The coroner stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment or two, then he
added:
"'In the event of the deceased's claim to the joint title and revenues
of De Genneville being held good in the courts of law, there would be a
great importance, would there not, attached to his marriage, which was
to have taken place on the 15th?'
"'In that event, there certainly would be.'
"'Is the jury to understand, then, that you and the deceased parted on
amicable terms after your interview with him in the morning?'
"The Earl of Brockelsby hesitated again for a minute or two, while the
crowd and the jury hung breathless on his lips.
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