Annesley made no objection to Knight's plan for luring the journalist
into his "trap," which was a harmless one. According to his prophecy, Mr.
Milton Savage of the Torquay _Weekly Messenger_ accepted the invitation
from his correspondent, and came to luncheon on the day when the public
were free to view Valley House.

He was a small man with a big head and eyes which glinted large behind
convex spectacles. Annesley was charming to him, not only in the wish to
please Knight but because she was kind-hearted and had intense sympathy
for suppressed people. Mr. Savage was grateful and admiring, and drank in
every word Knight dropped, as if carelessly, about the relationship to
Lord Annesley-Seton.

Knight allowed himself to be pumped concerning it, and also his wife's
parentage, letting fall, with apparent inadvertence, bits of information
regarding himself, his travels, his adventures, and the fortune he had
picked up.

"I'm the exception," he said, "to the proverb that 'a rolling stone
gathers no moss.' I've gathered all I want or know what to do with; and
now I'm married I mean to take a rest. I haven't decided yet where or
how, but it will be somewhere in England. We're looking for a house in
London, and later we might rent one in the country, too."

Annesley admired his cleverness in touching the goal; but somehow these
smart hits disturbed rather than amused her. Knight's complexity was a
puzzle to her. She could not understand, despite his explanations, why
these fireworks of dexterity were worth while. Knight was a brave figure
of romance. She did not want her hero turned into an intriguer, no matter