She bent her head and answered, "I am afraid so."
"And I—have found it so."
Julia's hand came on his arm. "Will you not," she pleaded, "will you not do it—do what seems right——be on the safe side?"
"I cannot make up my mind. Not for want of thinking. It has been before me constantly. But there are difficulties. Something must be done, undoubtedly. The question is—what?"
"Twenty thousand pounds?"
"It would mean pecuniary pressure for years for you and me."
"Ought we to think of that—if it is right—if your uncle meant her to have so much?"
"If? That is the question. Did he mean it calmly, or was it a sudden impulse? Should I be right to part with such an amount? There are certain duties which I owe to the estate, to those living on the estate. How if I could not fulfil those duties?"
"But have we not to 'do justly,' not thinking of consequences?"
Harvey smiled. "Yours is a very straightforward view of the matter."