Hooper sprang to his feet. “You misunderstood me, Mr. Lawrence,” he protested angrily, but nervously. “My daughter will have that—perhaps more than that—ultimately. But I meant dollars, not pounds.”
Lawrence put on a expression of amazement. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Hooper, but really—really—you can’t mean that. Two hundred thousand pounds would barely fetch them even. They’d have nothing to live on.”
“Oh, of course I don’t mean that I’d not give ’em anything in addition. We were talking only of settlements.”
“Certainly. And you must see, Mr. Hooper, that it would be impossible for us to accept any settlement so inadequate. Some misfortune might overtake you and—you would be unable to carry out your present generous intentions.”
“A million dollars is a big sum of money. It looks even bigger in England than here.”
“But you are making a great alliance. A million dollars is a small sum in the circumstances—I mean, in view of the necessity of enabling your daughter to take all that her position as Countess of Frothingham entitles her to.”
“Permit me to ask,” said Hooper with some sarcasm, but not enough to conceal his anxiety, “what did Lord Frothingham expect in the way of settlement?” The multi-millionaire had developed two powerful passions with age—avarice and social ambition. These were now rending each the other and both were rending him.
“Lord Frothingham, of course, did not discuss the matter with me—a gentleman is, naturally, delicate in matters of money. He simply stated the posture of his affairs and left me in full charge. When I suggested to him that eight hundred thousand—pounds—would be adequate, he protested that that was too much. ‘I wish Mr. Hooper to appreciate that it is his daughter I want,’ said he. ‘Make the least possible conditions. I’d be glad to marry her without a penny if my position permitted. It’s hard to have to consider such things at this time,’ he said. ‘I’m sure we can pull through with seven hundred thousand.’ I did not and do not agree with him, but I assented because I knew that you would liberally supplement the settlements.”
Every sentence in that speech exasperated Mr. Hooper—perhaps Lawrence’s persistence in expressing himself in pounds instead of in dollars most of all. Pounds made the huge sum demanded seem small, made his resistance seem mean and vulgar. He reflected for several minutes. “I won’t do it!” he said in a sudden gust of temper. “Half that is my final figure. I’ll settle the obligations—the five hundred and seventy thousand dollars—and I’ll entail five hundred thousand and give Jenny five hundred thousand for her lifetime, it to go afterward to the younger children.”
Lawrence combed his whiskers with his fine fingers, shaking his head slowly as he did so. “But, Mr. Hooper——”