And the young wife laid a slender hand on the yellow , time-worn page where , in Old English text , appeared the lines she laughed at . Richard Trevlyn looked up with a smile and threw by the book , as if annoyed at being discovered reading it . Drawing his wife 's hand through his own , he led her back to her couch , folded the soft shawls about her , and , sitting in a low chair beside her , said in a cheerful tone , though his eyes betrayed some hidden care , `` My love , that book is a history of our family for centuries , and that old prophecy has never yet been fulfilled , except the ` heir and heiress ' line . I am the last Trevlyn , and as the time draws near when my child shall be born , I naturally think of his future , and hope he will enjoy his heritage in peace . '' `` God grant it ! '' softly echoed Lady Trevlyn , adding , with a look askance at the old book , `` I read that history once , and fancied it must be a romance , such dreadful things are recorded in it . Is it all true , Richard ? '' `` Yes , dear . I wish it was not . Ours has been a wild , unhappy race till the last generation or two . The stormy nature came in with old Sir Ralph , the fierce Norman knight , who killed his only son in a fit of wrath , by a blow with his steel gauntlet , because the boy 's strong will would not yield to his . '' `` Yes , I remember , and his daughter Clotilde held the castle during a siege , and married her cousin , Count Hugo . 'T is a warlike race , and I like it in spite of the mad deeds . '' `` Married her cousin ! That has been the bane of our family in times past . Being too proud to mate elsewhere , we have kept to ourselves till idiots and lunatics began to appear . My father was the first who broke the law among us , and I followed his example : choosing the freshest , sturdiest flower I could find to transplant into our exhausted soil . '' `` I hope it will do you honor by blossoming bravely . I never forget that you took me from a very humble home , and have made me the happiest wife in England . '' `` And I never forget that you , a girl of eighteen , consented to leave your hills and come to cheer the long-deserted house of an old man like me , '' returned her husband fondly .
`` Nay , do n't call yourself old , XXXXX ; you are only forty-five , the boldest , handsomest man in Warwickshire .
Clotilde England English Richard Trevlyn bane first idiots knight lunatics