"You are very kind to me, sir, and I wanted to ask your advice. But in that matter"--he shook his head despondently--"I don't see how any one can help. It's all a tangle, but in my own mind I'm sure Jack must be Lady Susan Sandys's boy, and that means that I--that I am----"
"You are yourself, my dear lad, and, unless I am very much mistaken, you will render a very good account of yourself when your chance comes."
"I will do my best, sir, but that does not alter the fact that I am out of it as far as Carne is concerned. And that means a great deal to me. Not that I want it for itself, but--well, there are other things----" And he stuck, with a choking in the throat.
"Don't tell me anything you don't want to, but if I can help I would very much like to."
"It's this way, sir. Jack and I are both in love with Gracie----"
"And who is Gracie, now?"
"Grace Eager--she is the sister of Mr. Eager, our curate at Wynsloe. It is he who has done everything for us----"
"He's a very fine fellow, then, and has done good work."
"Oh, he's the finest man in the world. We were growing up little savages, running wild on the flats, when he came, and he has made us into men--he and Gracie between them. And Gracie is wonderful and lovely and all that is good. And now----"
"Has she chosen Jack?"