"Yes," said Aaron, still speaking in a quiet tone, "we must take that into consideration. You have not quite finished, sir?"
"Not quite. As a last resource, Lord Storndale consulted me, and entrusted me with a painful task. He requested me to call upon you, and represent the matter in the plainest terms, which I have endeavoured to do, omitting or concealing no single incident of the unhappy affair. I am deputed to ask you to take a course with your daughter similar to that he has taken with his son--that is, to absolutely forbid the union. The young gentleman is in a state of extreme pecuniary embarrassment, and it is possible--I do not state it as a fact, but merely as a presumption--that he reckons upon your aid to settle with his creditors. When he finds that this aid will not be forthcoming, and that he cannot depend upon your making a suitable settlement upon your daughter, he is not unlikely, for prudential reasons, to beat a retreat."
"What is the inference you wish me to draw from this expression of opinion?"
"That Mr. Storndale is following your daughter for your money."
"And that he has no love for her?"
The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. The interview was taking a turn not exactly pleasing to him.
"You are not flattering the young gentleman," Aaron said.
"I had no intention of doing so. Of course, it is for you to consider the matter from your own point of view. First, as a father----"
He paused.
"Yes, first as a father," repeated Aaron.