The Earl drew his brows together into a curious frown, which somehow was scarcely grim at all. He glanced across at Mr. Mordaunt.
“I don't know what sort of landed proprietor he will make,” he said. “I told Havisham the boy was to have what he wanted—anything he wanted—and what he wanted, it seems, was money to give to beggars.”
“Oh! but they weren't beggars,” said Fauntleroy eagerly. “Michael was a splendid bricklayer! They all worked.”
“Oh!” said the Earl, “they were not beggars. They were splendid bricklayers, and bootblacks, and apple-women.”
He bent his gaze on the boy for a few seconds in silence. The fact was that a new thought was coming to him, and though, perhaps, it was not prompted by the noblest emotions, it was not a bad thought. “Come here,” he said, at last.
Fauntleroy went and stood as near to him as possible without encroaching on the gouty foot.
“What would YOU do in this case?” his lordship asked.
It must be confessed that Mr. Mordaunt experienced for the moment a curious sensation. Being a man of great thoughtfulness, and having spent so many years on the estate of Dorincourt, knowing the tenantry, rich and poor, the people of the village, honest and industrious, dishonest and lazy, he realized very strongly what power for good or evil would be given in the future to this one small boy standing there, his brown eyes wide open, his hands deep in his pockets; and the thought came to him also that a great deal of power might, perhaps, through the caprice of a proud, self-indulgent old man, be given to him now, and that if his young nature were not a simple and generous one, it might be the worst thing that could happen, not only for others, but for himself.
“And what would YOU do in such a case?” demanded the Earl.
Fauntleroy drew a little nearer, and laid one hand on his knee, with the most confiding air of good comradeship.