edward. Where's the five thousand?
mr. voysey. I don't know . . it was paid into my private account. Yes, I do remember. Some of it went to complete a purchase . . that and two thousand more out of the Skipworth fund.
edward. But, my dear father—
mr. voysey. Well?
edward. [summing it all up very simply.] It's not right.
mr. voysey considers his son for a moment with a pitying shake of the head.
mr. voysey. Oh . . why is it so hard for a man to see clearly beyond the letter of the law! Will you consider a moment, Edward, the position in which I found myself? Was I to see my father ruined and disgraced without lifting a finger to help him? . . not to mention the interest of the clients. I paid back to the man who would have lost most by my father's mistakes every penny of his money. He never knew the danger he'd been in . . never passed an uneasy moment about it. It was I who lay awake. I have now somewhere a letter from that man to my father thanking him effusively for the way in which he'd conducted some matter. It comforted my poor father. Well, Edward, I stepped outside the letter of the law to do that. Was that right or wrong?
edward. In its result, sir, right.
mr. voysey. Judge me by the result. I took the risk of failure . . I should have suffered. I could have kept clear of the danger if I'd liked.
edward. But that's all past. The thing that concerns me is what you are doing now.