"I am not a very wise person to consult," she replied, with a charming little smile, "but what little wit I have is quite at your service, papa."
"My dear child," he said, "between ourselves, the Studleighs have never been deficient in wit, but there has hardly been one steady head in the whole race."
"That is deplorable enough. We must try to alter it," she said, laughingly. "To begin with, I will steady my own. What do you wish to consult me about, papa?"
"I want to do something substantial and handsome for your foster-parents," he said. "What shall it be?"
"A steam-plow for Mark, and a black satin dress for his wife—that is the highest ambition of both."
"Then you shall present them those gifts. But I mean something substantial. What do you think of a thousand pounds as a dowry for his daughter, and a thousand to be spent in improvements on the farm?"
"I think you are very fortunate to have thousands to spare; and I think also that it is very charming of you to give them so much," she replied.
Lord Linleigh looked wistfully at her.
"Money could never repay such a benefit as Mark Brace and his wife have conferred upon me, Doris," he said. "I am an aristocrat, it is true; but I shall be more proud of reckoning that honest farmer among my friends than I should of calling a king brother."
"That is a very grand sentiment, papa," laughed Doris. "It is almost worth printing in a book. I must confess I would rather have a king for my brother than any man for a friend. I think Mark will be delighted with the steam-plow. After all, what you are pleased to call the benefit they conferred on you was not without its reward. Mark Brace was very fond of me—he always said I made the sunshine of Brackenside."