“Ay, that is the great matter in my friend's eyes.”
“He must be written to at once,—let him come over here without loss of time, and if it can be shown that this signature is a forgery, we might make it the ground of a compromise with the O'Reillys, who, to obtain a good title, would be glad to admit us to liberal terms.”
“Darcy will never listen to that, depend upon it,” said Daly; “his greatest affliction is for his son's ruin.”
“We 'll see, we 'll see—the game shall open its own combinations as we go on; for the present, all the task of your friend the Knight is to carry a bold face to the world, let no rumor get abroad that matters are in their real condition. Our chance of extrication lies in the front we can show to the enemy.”
“You are making a heavier demand than you are aware of,—Darcy detests anything like concealment. I don't believe he would practise the slightest mystery that would involve insincerity for twelve hours to free the whole estate.”
“Very honorable indeed; but at this moment we must waive a punctilio.”
“Don't give it that name to him,—that's all,” said Daly, sternly. “I am as little for subterfuge as any man, and yet I did my best to prevent him resigning his seat in the House; this morning he would send a request to Lord Castlereagh, begging he might be permitted to accept an escheatorship; I need not say how willingly the proposal was accepted, and his name will appear in the 'Gazette' to-morrow morning.”
“This conduct, if persisted in, will ruin our case,” said the lawyer, despondingly. “I cannot comprehend his reasons for it.”
“They are simple enough: his own words were, 'I can never continue to be a member of the legislature when the only privilege it would confer is freedom from arrest.'”
“A very valuable one at this crisis, if he knew but all,” muttered the other. “You will write to young Darcy at once.”