"You can put to rights the cottages which are still in your hands, my lord. For the rest, my only remaining hope lies in the last person whom one would usually depute on such an errand."
"Who is that?"
"The schoolmistress."
"The who?" asked Scoutbush.
"The schoolmistress; at whose house Major Campbell lodges."
And Tom told them, succinctly, enough to justify his strange assertion.
"If you doubt me, my lord, I advise you to ask Mr. Headley. He is no friend of hers; being a high churchman, while she is a little inclined to be schismatic; but an enemy's opinion will be all the more honest."
"She must be a wonderful woman," said Scoutbush; "I should like to see her."
"And I too," said Campbell, "I passed a lovely girl on the stairs last night, and thought no more of it. Lovely girls are common enough in West Country ports."
"We'll go and see her," quoth his lordship.