“I am sure I am very much obliged to you,” said Mark.
“You must pay this money, or, at any rate, the most considerable portion of it;—the whole of it, indeed, with such deduction as a lawyer may be able to induce these hawks to make on the sight of the ready money. Perhaps £750 or £800 may see you clear of the whole affair.”
“But I have not a quarter of that sum lying by me.”
“No, I suppose not; but what I would recommend is this: that you should borrow the money from the bank, on your own responsibility,—with the joint security of some friend who may be willing to assist you with his name. Lord Lufton probably would do it.”
“No, Mr. Forrest—”
“Listen to me first, before you make up your mind. If you took this step, of course you would do so with the fixed intention of paying the money yourself,—without any further reliance on Sowerby or on any one else.”
“I shall not rely on Mr. Sowerby again; you may be sure of that.”
“What I mean is that you must teach yourself to recognize the debt as your own. If you can do that, with your income you can surely pay it, with interest, in two years. If Lord Lufton will assist you with his name I will so arrange the bills that the payments shall be made to fall equally over that period. In that way the world will know nothing about it, and in two years’ time you will once more be a free man. Many men, Mr. Robarts, have bought their experience much dearer than that, I can assure you.”
“Mr. Forrest, it is quite out of the question.”
“You mean that Lord Lufton will not give you his name.”