“Well, I was considering the matter in my own mind. You know, Mr. Stone, it is a great responsibility, this seeking a wife. And Miss Carrington was not—not in her first youth. Of a fact, her years outnumbered my own. So, I asked myself was it wise, was it altogether just to the lady to——”
“Never mind all that, Count,” said Stone, a little impatiently, “just give me a few details of that evening, so far as your actions were concerned. You were at the house till midnight?”
“Yes, Mr. Illsley and I left together. We had spent the evening there at cards and music.”
“You had had any private conversation with Miss Carrington during the evening?”
“Yes, we walked alone in the conservatory for a time,——”
“You proposed marriage?”
“Not exactly that,—but I may have hinted at such an event.”
“And the lady seemed agreeable?”
“Entirely so. If I may say it, she met my advances half-way, and I could not misunderstand her feeling toward my unworthy self.”
“She spoke to you of money matters? Of her will?”