or two, was, consequently, quite familiar with the house and grounds.

As he re-entered the room, having exchanged his business suit for
one more suitable to the occasion, there was not one present but
what instinctively, though perhaps unconsciously, recognized in him
a true gentleman and treated him as such. Tall, with a splendid
physique, finely shaped head, dark hair, and eyes of peculiar beauty,
he was far from being the least attractive member of the party which,
a few moments later, entered the Mainwaring carriage, with its coat
of arms, and rolled away in the direction of Fair Oaks.




CHAPTER II

FAIR OAKS


The home of Hugh Mainwaring was one of many palatial suburban
residences situated on a beautiful avenue running in a northerly
direction from the city, but it had not been for so many years in
his possession without acquiring some of the characteristics of its
owner, which gave it an individuality quite distinct from its elegant
neighbors. It had originally belonged to one of the oldest and
wealthiest families in the county, for a strictly modern house,
without a vestige of antiqueness lingering in its halls and with no
faint aroma of bygone days pervading its atmosphere, would have been
entirely too plebeian to suit the tastes of Hugh Mainwaring.