“I’m inclined to agree with that. The buildings were never taken care of.”
John exploded.
“They were taken too much care of.”
Gridley pursued his advantage, saying slyly:
“He thinks, my lady, that he and his father own your property.”
“No, I don’t,” John replied hotly. “All the same——” He broke off abruptly.
“Pray, finish your sentence.”
The young man pulled himself together. Voice and hands trembled slightly as he said more quietly:
“Property, my lady, is a trust, a sacred trust, or—or it ought to be.”
Lady Selina paused before she answered him, a pause characteristic of her. She boasted, not without reason, that she was approachable, that she listened patiently to what her people might wish to say to her. And rarely indeed did she lose her temper with servants or those whom she held beneath her in station. A faint smile flickered about her lips as she asked quietly: