It was not long before the new baronet--the last of his line--began to make
his influence felt. His temper was resolute, secret, and domineering; he
bore himself haughtily among the neighboring squires, never seeking to
please a friend or to conciliate an enemy. Few people liked him; many
stood in awe of him. He seemed to be out of sympathy with his race; his
strange, ambiguous history invested him with an atmosphere of doubt and
mystery; his nature was not like other men's; it was even whispered that
he had powers transcending those of ordinary humanity. It is probable that
his remarkable personal beauty, which in moments of anger or energy
gleamed out with an almost satanic intensity, may have lent substance to
this impression; men shrunk from meeting the stern inquisition of his
black eyes; and for women his glance possessed a sort of fascination,
unconnected with his beauty. But there were other indications more direct
than these. A century, or even half a century, previous to this time Sir
Archibald might have found it difficult to avoid the imputation of
witchcraft. After all, was not he the descendant of his forefathers? and
what had some of them been? "Were there not people in the neighboring
village of Grinstead who were willing to take affidavit that the handsome
young baronet had the power to make himself invisible when he pleased?
Nay, had not Mrs. Pennroyal herself, while she was yet a young maid,
borne testimony to the fact--that he had suddenly stood before her, in
broad daylight, in a room which had the instant before been empty? That
room had always had a queer reputation; it was there, or thereabouts, that
most of these strange goings-on took place. A servant, who had once
wandered in there to announce to Sir Archibald that one of his lawyers had
arrived, and was waiting to see him, had found the room vacant, though he
had seen his master enter it only ten minutes before. Thinking that he
must have gone out by the other entrance, through the stable, he was about
to follow, when he noticed that this door was bolted on the inside. In
some bewilderment, he was on the point of retiring, when he was startled