Mrs. Chichester was evidently either not listening, or was entirely unimpressed. She was tapping her left hand with a lorgnette she held in her right, and was waiting for an opportunity to speak. Consequently, Mr. Hawkes stopped politely.
"If you can persuade her to remain with us, I will do anything you wish in regard to her character and its development."
"Don't be uneasy," he replied easily, "she will stay. May I see her?"
Mrs. Chichester, rose crossed over to the bell and rang it. She wanted to prepare the solicitor for the possibility of a match between her son and her niece. She would do it NOW and do it tactfully.
"There is one thing you must know, Mr. Hawkes. My son is in love with her," she said, as though in a burst of confidence.
Hawkes rose, visibly perturbed.
"What? Your son?"
"Yes," she sighed. "Of course she is hardly a suitable match for Alaric—as YET. But by the time she is of age—"
"Of age?"
"By that time, much may be done."