“You here?” she said.
“Yes, my dear,” said Mr. Briggs, pleasantly. “Gilbert has been keeping me company.”
“He came on business, I suppose,” sneered the lady.
“You are right, my dear. What made you guess his errand?”
“I supposed he wanted help,” said Mrs. Briggs. “He wants his pension restored, of course.”
“Is that what you came for, Gilbert?” asked Randolph, uncomfortably.
Gilbert rather enjoyed the misapprehension of his two enemies, but he left Mr. Briggs to answer.
“Really, my dear, you are hardly polite to my young ward.”
“Your ward! Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Briggs. You know he hasn’t got a cent, and has to live on charity.”
“You are quite mistaken, my dear. Gilbert has just come into a property of over eighty thousand dollars. And he has asked me to take charge of it for him.”