He tried to put aside the naked truth which had arisen before him since his return to England.

He loved her.

Yes, he loved her, and would think no ill of her until he had proof, actual and indisputable.
As far as the eligibility of Walter Murie was concerned there was no question.

Even Lady Heyburn could not deny it when she discussed the matter over the tea-cups with her intimate friends.
The family of the Muries of Connachan claimed a respectable antiquity.
The original surname of the family was De Balinhard, assumed from an estate of that name in the county of Forfar.

Sir Jocelynus de Baldendard, or Balinhard, who witnessed several charters between 1204 and 1225, is the first recorded of the name, but there is no documentary proof of descent before that time; and, indeed, most of the family papers having been burned in 1452, little remains of the early history beyond the names and succession of the possessors of Balinhard from about 1250 till 1350, which are stated in a charter of David II.