"Poor, but not, alas! romantically so," he confessed. "To be the real thing, I ought to have earned my first few pounds, oughtn't I? You see, I didn't. I was educated by relatives, and when a great chance came my way I was able to take advantage of it. An uncle advanced me a thousand pounds, upon one condition."
"Had you to make him a partner?" she asked, in the intervals of giving a small order at the grocer's.
He shook his head.
"No," he answered gravely, "it wasn't a financial condition. In a way it was something more difficult."
She looked at him curiously.
"Whatever it was," she said, "if you promised, I am quite sure that you would keep your word."
They motored homewards and David was for a few minutes unexpectedly thoughtful. He deliberately approached Broomleys from the back, but even then it was impossible to avoid a distant view of the cottage. He looked towards it grimly.
"Conditions are stern things," he sighed.
"Haven't you kept that one yet?" she asked.
"The time is only just coming," he told her.