"You've come from Tattersall's, young man!" said Amelia.
"Then I just didn't!" But to tell the truth he had come from Tattersall's, and it might be difficult to follow up the workings of his mind and find out why he had told the lie. Of course it was known that when in London much of his business was done at Tattersall's. But the horsey man is generally on the alert to take care that no secret of his trade escapes from him unawares. And it may be that he was thus prepared for a gratuitous lie.
"Uncle's gone a deal farther than ever I expected," said Amelia.
"He's been most generous to all the girls," said Mrs. Carroll, moved nearly to tears.
Mr. Juniper did not care very much about "all the girls," thinking that the uncle's affection at the present moment should be shown to the one girl who had found a husband, and thinking also that if the husband was to be secured, the proper way of doing so would be by liberality to him. Amelia had said that her uncle had gone farther than she expected. Mr. Juniper concluded from this that he had not gone as far as he had been asked, and boldly resolved, at the spur of the moment, to stand by his demand. "Five hundred pounds ain't much," he said.
"Dick, don't make a beast of yourself!" said Amelia. Upon this Dick only smiled.
He continually twiddled his hat for three or four minutes, and then rose up straight. "I suppose," said he, "I had better go up-stairs and talk to the old man. I seed Miss Sophie taking a pick-up to him, so I suppose he'll be able to talk."
"Why shouldn't he talk?" said Mrs. Carroll. But she quite understood what Mr. Juniper's words were intended to imply.
"It don't always follow," said Juniper, as he walked out of the room.
"Now there'll be a row in the house;—you see if there isn't!" said Amelia. But Mrs. Carroll expressed her opinion that the man must be the most ungrateful of creatures if he kicked up a row on the present occasion. "I don't know so much about that, mamma," said Amelia.