‘That is quite true, my lord; and I cannot pretend to deny the weakness you accuse me of. There may be no daughter in the question.’
‘Ah! You begin to perceive now that you surrendered your convictions too easily, Atlee. You failed in that element of “restless distrust” that Talleyrand used to call the temper of the diplomatist.’
‘It is not the first time I have had to feel I am your lordship’s inferior.’
‘My education was not made in a day, Atlee. It need be no discouragement to you that you are not as long-sighted as I am. No, no; rely upon it, there is no daughter in the case.’
‘With that conviction, my lord, what is easier than to make your adhesion to his terms conditional on his truth? You agree, if his statement be in all respects verified.’
‘Which implies that it is of the least consequence to me whether the fellow has a daughter or not?’
‘It is so only as the guarantee of the man’s veracity.’
‘And shall I give ten thousand pounds to test that?’
‘No, my lord; but to repossess yourself of what, in very doubtful hands, might prove a great scandal and a great disaster.’
‘Ten thousand pounds! ten thousand pounds!’