On her immediate return to England, her lawyer had told her that he found there would be opposition to her claim, and that an attempt would be made to keep the house out of her hands.

Lord Ongar's people would, he said, bribe her to submit to this by immediate acquiescence, as to her income.

But she had declared that she would not submit--that she would have house and income and all; and she had been successful.

"Why should I surrender what is my own ?" she said, looking the lawyer full in the face.

The lawyer had not dared to tell her that her opponents--Lord Ongar's heirs--had calculated on her anxiety to avoid exposure; but she knew that that was meant.