It had been lucky that Sir Denzil had become friends on board the ship that carried him away from England, with a man who was a prospector for gold and was, in fact, an expert in the field.

Sir Denzil had gone with him to Arizona and it was due to his new-found friend that he staked the small amount of money he had with him in a prospective gold field that was not yet developed.

With a determination that his friends would not have expected of him, Sir Denzil worked harder, he said, than any navvy in panning gold, and was astute enough to invest every nugget he found in buying more land.

Besides the prospectors in the field, there were the riffraff who were always looking for a strike.

Most of them were interested in what they found only so that they could drink more with the bawdy women, who were to be found in the hastily erected bars that were too sordid to attract any man who was in the least fastidious.

Gradually Sir Denzil and his partner acquired all the land that was worthwhile and, when finally they struck the deep vein they hoped for, there was no question of their ownership being in dispute.

The moment he had gained everything he required, knowing the years of his exile were coming to an end, Sir Denzil was ready to return to New York on the first step of his journey back to England.

The mine by this time was being worked by experts and there was nothing he and his partner could do personally but collect their profits and make sure that they would continue to flow in.

Everything was tied up extremely satisfactorily by the best lawyers and financial experts in New York.

Then Sir Denzil’s partner was shot by a man who believed many years earlier that he had defrauded him of his claim.

The accusation was untrue, but the fact that the man was arrested did not save his victim’s life.

He only just had time to make a will in Sir Denzil’s favour before he died.

“I’ve had the greatest fun in my life these last three years that we’ve been together,” he said to Sir Denzil. “In fact, I’d never known what it was to laugh before.”

He gasped for air before he added,

“Spend my money for me, Denzil, and laugh as you do so. I shall be listening to hear you.”

There were tears in Sir Denzil’s eyes as he related this part of the story and his wife held tightly onto his hand to show that she understood and wanted to comfort him.

Although the sound of her father’s laughter filled The Manor and brought his wife such happiness that every day she seemed to glow with a new beauty, Thalia knew that there was one part of herself that no laughter could reach.