'
'That is the very reason why you, who may some day be the heir of one
of the first houses in England, must never marry Winifred Wynne.'
'But I don't want to be heir of the Aylwins; I don't want my uncle's
property,' I retorted. 'Nor do I want the other bauble prizes of the
Aylwins.'
'Providence has taken Frank, and says you must stand where you
stand,' replied my mother solemnly. 'You may even some day, should
Cyril be childless, succeed to the earldom, and then what an alliance
would this be!'
'Earldom! I'd not have it. I'd trample on the coronet. Gingerbread!
I'd trample it in the mud, if it were to sever me from Winifred.'
'You must succeed to it should Cyril Aylwin, who seems disinclined to
marry, die childless,' said my mother quietly; 'and by that time you
may perhaps have reached man's estate.'
'Pity, mother, pity!' I cried in despair, as I looked at the strong
woman who bore me.
'Pity upon whom? Have pity upon me, and upon the family you now
represent. As to all the fearful effects that the knowledge of this
sacrilege will have upon the girl, _that_ is a subject upon which you
must allow me to have my own opinion.
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