"Very wrong, indeed," said Mrs. Fitzpatrick.
"But when one gets frightened," said he, laughing, "what is to be done? When my servant asks me what has become of my purse, I must say I was stopped by a foot-pad."
"Will your servant call you to account?" asked Aveline, opening wide her large eyes at the idea of any one taking Mr. Haveloc to task.
"I should not wonder. He is a very old servant, and says and does pretty much what he pleases."
"How I should like to hear you go on together," said Aveline with a smile.
"Oh! it seldom amounts to a duet. He generally unburdens his mind at night; and when I am tired of saying yes, and no, I fall asleep, and so escape the end of the lecture."
"I should like to know, if it was not indiscreet, what the lectures were about?"
"Generally financial. If he thinks I have paid more for a horse than it is worth, it is a long time before he gets over it. He was very much shocked when I bought that plague of a yacht; and at Rome he was a perpetual torment. I could hardly look at a picture, or a cameo, without his hinting that I should end my career in the Queen's Bench."
"But that shows a great deal of attachment," said Aveline; "one sees too little of that feeling in these days. But we are very fortunate. Mrs. Grant was a treasure."
"Shall I come to-morrow, Mrs. Fitzpatrick?" said Mr. Haveloc rising. "Miss Fitzpatrick meets with nothing but misfortunes when I have the charge of her."