“To advantage?�
“Most certainly.�
“I thank you, Master Ficklin, for your provident care of my little fortune. It is most unexpected,� she faltered, almost overwhelmed at the sudden realization that she was not altogether a pauper.
“Believe me, Mistress Lucy, it is a happiness to do anything for you,� said the old attorney, rising and gathering up his papers, and bowing low before her. “My father, and his father before him served the estates of the Wilberforces, and for how many generations back I know not. You may command me in everything. A temporary loan, or—�
“Thank you, Master Ficklin,� said Mistress Lucy, “you touch me greatly, but I need nothing at present. My father made me an allowance and generally paid it. It was a generous one; living alone as I did I could not spend it all. I have a few hundred pounds in my own name at the bank, and with that for temporary use and my mother’s legacy I shall lack nothing.�
“But where will you live, Mistress Lucy?�
“It matters little,� she answered listlessly.
“My sister and I,� said the old attorney, “live alone in the county town. The house is large. If you would accept our hospitality until your future is decided we should be vastly honored.�
“Master Ficklin—� began my lady.
“I know that the accommodations are poor,� interrupted the attorney hastily, “and we are humble folk, but—�