"I must go now," he said; "I promised to meet Kenwyne and Broadwood. We'll settle how you're to pay me the next time I come."
Mrs. Mowbray was waiting for him in the hall below.
"I want to thank you," she said to him. "I don't know what you have done to my boy, but he is so very much better."
Harding met the gaze she quietly fixed on him. He saw that she knew there was some secret between him and her son, but had confidence enough to ask no questions.
"For one thing," he answered lightly, "I've given him some good advice, which I think he'll act on."
"He seems to have a respect for your judgment—and I feel he's not mistaken."
"That's very kind," said Harding. "I hope I shall be able to keep your good opinion; though you may find it shaken by and by."
Mrs. Mowbray looked at him keenly, and then laid her hand gently on his arm.
"You have helped my boy to get better and, whatever may happen, that goes a long way," she said.
When Harding left her he felt that in Mrs. Mowbray he would have a staunch ally in his fight for Beatrice.