"I said that what these people lacked was the influence of family--of old
blood!"

He made himself smile at her, and Elizabeth trembled. "If I could
explain--" she began.

"Ah, what is there to explain, Aunt Elizabeth? Except that you have been
a thousand times kinder to me than I dreamed before. Why, I--I actually
thought that you were rather honored by having a Colby under your roof. I
really felt that I was bestowing something of a favor on you!"

"Terry, sit down!"

He sank into a chair slowly. And she sat on the arm of it with her
mournful eyes on his face.

"Whatever your name may be, that doesn't change the man who wears the
name."

He laughed softly. "And you've been teaching me steadily for twenty-four
years that blood will tell? You can't change like this. Oh, I understand
it perfectly. You determined to make me over. You determined to destroy
my heritage and put the name of the fine old Colbys in its place. It was
a brave thing to try, and all these years how you must have waited, and
waited to see how I would turn out, dreading every day some outbreak of
the bad blood! Ah, you have a nerve of steel, Aunt Elizabeth! How have
you endured the suspense?"

She felt that he was mocking her subtly under this flow of compliment.