"Comfortable, no indeed, Mr. Vance," she tittered nervously, "comfort, to my mind, means laziness and self-indulgence. Lucinda and I live the simple life, and require only the bare necessities of civilization. And I'm so poor----"
Her niece intervened coldly. "Is it necessary to inform Mr. Vance of your private business, aunt?"
"Oh, my dear, he knows it. For instance, that I am your aunt only by courtesy."
"What do you mean? You are my mother's sister."
"Yes. Poor dear Jane; what a bad marriage she made with that spendthrift."
"Aunt! aunt! Leave my father alone."
"My dear, I refuse to be contradicted. I never liked Walter, and I never will, so I disassociate myself from him in every way, as a sister-in-law, and look upon myself as your aunt by courtesy: merely by courtesy."
Miss Monk rose with a flush. "This conversation cannot be interesting to Mr. Vance," she said, quietly. "If you have any business with him, I shall leave you together."
"No, no, I have no business with him, my dear. Merely I should like to know if Anne's will really leaves all her property to Joseph."
"If you mean Mr. Striver, I understand that he had got the money and the lease of the corner shop to say nothing of the contents," said I, in detail.