"Archie, I have something to tell you."

"I feared so."

"It is not anything that you could expect. That quarrel between Richard and
me was about our father. Richard said he was--that is--"

"Don't fear. Say it!"

"That his mother was not Lady Malmaison."

"He lied!"

"So I told him. But that's not the end of it, unfortunately. He defied me
to prove the contrary. Ever since I first got up after the duel, I have
been looking for the papers relating to Sir Clarence's birth. They're not
to be found. There is no record that our grandmother had any son at all.
On the other hand, there is indirect evidence that our grandfather had an
affair with some woman.... The amount of it is, I have not been able to
establish Sir Clarence's legitimacy. And the worst is still to tell."

"I know the rest; I know it all! Why didn't you say all this to me at
first, brother? You have been harassing yourself with the idea that
because you couldn't vindicate father, Malmaison might be claimed by
Richard, under that old agreement of Sir Charles's time."

"How did you know--"

"I know everything. I know where the papers are that you have been looking
for. Set your mind at rest, Ned. Sir Clarence was the legitimate heir.