Bend sinister

A ‘bend sinister’ ran athwart his reputation as a priest. Men muttered that he was an infidel, a blasphemous vagabond, versed in all the damnable heresies of antiquity.

Rumour credited his family tree with both a 50 per cent. Jewish strain and a bend sinister.

“I am a gentleman,” he began slowly, his back still turned, and his fingers moving busily. “Or rather, the blood of a gentleman flows through my veins.” […] “A bend sinister. Poor lad!”