"He's been a truthful lad all his days," his mother proudly testified;
"while as to drink--not a drop of spirits has passed his lips sin' I gev'
him a wee drop for the spasms when he wes a wean!"
And Aleck's blushing approval of the maternal statement bore witness to
its truth.
I confess that the story did not in the least rouse any superstitious
credence in my mind. Luminous paint was not such an unknown quantity to
me as it would be to this country-bred lad and his family. I took care,
however, to breathe no word of my suspicions; for I meant to make a few
investigations on my own account. So with the looked-for expressions of
astonishment, I took my leave.
I had been asked to dine at Ardmuir House that evening, and as it was a
matter of eight miles distant, I was to stay the night. Accordingly, I
started in good time in the pony cart, old Willy by my side to bring back
the trap. Colonel Ashol was by way of being civil to Val and myself, and
frequently invited us; my brother, however, seldom accepted, and was
always glad when I undertook to represent the Flemings there. The
Ashols, though a family of a feeble type of Protestants, showed no
decided bigotry. They had a few Catholics in their employ on the estate,
and were cordial enough with us.
Ardmuir House and some of its land had been Church property before the
Reformation. Val looked the matter up once, and discovered that it had
been a dependency upon one of the larger abbeys, and was itself a place
of no little importance.
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