"Of course they would—they always are!" replies Daisy, with firm conviction that the approved manner of winding up fairy tales in general cannot fail to be successful in this case also.
"You can arrange it all nicely when you are at home to-night," continues the child, "and mind you make it very long."
"To be sure," says the young man as he lifts his little charge off her pony and stands her by the gate. "Yards long, if you like, Daisy; and we will take an extra long ride so as to get it all in comfortably."
As he stops at the Rosery stables to leave Puck, the old gentlemen at work in the garden catch sight of their young favourite; and nothing will do but he must go in and take a glass of ale and some cake with them, the brothers being devoted to cake themselves, and thinking of necessity that every one else must be likewise. So Jack is taken in company with Puck to the nice cool stable, where he is entertained with a fresh drink and a few oats, while his master goes into the shady, old-fashioned dining-room with his old hosts. It soon becomes apparent that they have lured him in with some special object, for after a humming and hawing from both gentlemen in turn Mr. Edward at length says:
"The fact is, my dear Dr. John, we have been wanting to speak to you for some time past on a little matter of business; and I do not see that we could have a better opportunity than now."
Mr. Benjamin nods approvingly, and saying "exactly," looks at his brother expectantly.
"You see, my dear boy," resumes the elder brother slowly, "if you will pardon us for saying so, we do think it is time you were thinking of getting married. Hush! pray let me finish what I was about to say. Of course Mrs. Mildew, though a truly excellent woman in her way, is, it cannot be denied, advancing in years; and we fear that she does not always make you as comfortable as—as, well, as she might. Now, Brother Ben and I, you must remember, have known you ever since you were a little chap—so high, and have looked upon you as a son almost. Naturally, therefore, we have put you down in our will for a trifle. But we have lately been thinking that the wiser plan would be to let you have the benefit of this little sum during our lifetime—in fact, at once. It will bring you in about a hundred a year, and with your own practice, we think you might make a sufficient income to keep a wife very comfortably.
"Of course," says Mr. Ned, holding up his hand again for silence—"of course this is a matter in which we cannot advise you, and which must be left entirely to yourself. I daresay, however, you know plenty of young ladies in the different towns about;" and he nods and smiles archly at the young fellow.
"You see, my dear boy, it looks so much better for a doctor to be a married man," suddenly puts in Mr. Benjamin; "and should you be so fortunate as to meet with anyone in the future whom you would like to—to make Mrs. John, you know, you would naturally want to furbish up the old place a bit—now, wouldn't you?"
"Another thing," strikes in Mr. Edward, both brothers seeming equally determined that John shall not have an opportunity of getting in a single word edgeways until they have said all their say, "it would be an immense relief to both Brother Ben and myself to feel that we still had you at hand to fly to in any case of emergency. We have always had the fear that you might perhaps be running away to set up in some more prosperous place than this."