In the mean time Sir Peter Elsworthy had been removed to his home, but unhappily showed no signs of returning intelligence. He remained in the same dazed condition, and was as helpless as a child.
Mobberley Hall was a beautiful, quaint Elizabethan mansion, and Sir Peter’s household was a large one; for he had been married twice, and had children by both wives. His second wife, who was a young woman, had borne him two sons and three daughters, who were all at home. In addition, a daughter by the first wife, who was a widow with four children of her own, lived under her father’s roof; and there were also two sons of the first family. They were both in business in Birmingham. Such a large family necessitated a large staff of servants, and in addition to the ordinary female domestics to be fo
