"There will be nothing to pay, Mrs. Van Siever."
"How long has he been at it, Clara?"
"Mamma, indeed you had better not say anything about paying him."
"I shall say whatever I please, miss. Will ten pounds do it, sir?"
"If you choose to buy the picture, the price will be seven hundred and fifty," said Dalrymple, with a smile, pointing to the fragments.
"Seven hundred and fifty pounds?" said the old woman.
"But I strongly advise you not to make the purchase," said Dalrymple.
"Seven hundred and fifty pounds! I certainly shall not give you seven hundred and fifty pounds, sir."
"I certainly think you could invest your money better, Mrs. Van Siever. But if the thing is to be sold at all, that is my price. I've thought that there was some justice in your demand that it should be destroyed,—and therefore I have destroyed it."
Mrs. Van Siever had been standing on the same spot ever since she had entered the room, and now she turned round to leave the room.