It was blow enough to his nephew, Sir Archibald, my late husband.

The Earl maintains that it hastened poor Archibald's death.

But that is ridiculous.

Archibald had undermined his constitution with dissipation, and died following an operation for gravel.

He was to have succeeded to the title, as both of the Earl's legitimate sons were dead without issue--one of them perished in the Boer War, and the other was killed in the hunting field.
"Upon Archibald's death the old Earl publicly acknowledged Reginald Maltravers, his natural son, and took steps to have him legitimatized.
For all of the bend sinister upon his escutcheon, Reginald Maltravers was as fanatical concerning the family as his father.