there had been a general opinion that he intended to marry his cousin, Jane Bashpoole. That young lady had also been a great favorite with Anthony's mother, and had understood from her that she was to inherit the sapphire set which was among the Aske jewels.
But if Anthony had one opinion about the estate more fixed and prominent than any other, it was the idea of keeping intact whatever belonged to Aske as a family property. Of the house, the land, the timber, the plate, the jewels, he was only a steward for those who should succeed him. The young lady's claim was no clearer than a supposition, grounded probably upon her own strong desire, and Squire Bashpoole thoroughly agreed with his nephew in his reluctance to alienate any portion of the family belongings. And though "Cousin Jane" had been prevailed upon to accept a similar necklace as a gift from Cousin Anthony, she still felt the Aske sapphires to be a painful subject, and it had required tact, as well as generosity, on Anthony's part to atone for his apparent niggardliness.
Indiscretion was not one of Anthony's failings, but it had happened that in some hour of
