“What did you – answer?” Sona questioned.
“I was stunned by the suggestion,” the Marquis replied. “For a moment I could hardly believe what my father had said. Then, as I hesitated, somebody, I cannot now remember who it was, placed a dirk in his frail hands.
“‘Give me your solemn oath, Napier,’ my father pleaded, ‘sacred to every Clansman when it is made on the dirk, that you will obey my dying wish. It is the last thing I shall ask of you.’”
There was silence for a moment.
Then the Marquis said,
“My father closed his eyes as if the effort had been almost too much for him and he had already died. Then, as I knew that he still lived and was waiting just as everybody else in the room was waiting for me to reply, I did as he requested! I swore the oath that can never be broken!”
“It wa
