“Stand out for ten thousand dollars,” said the squire. “I don’t mind a few months’ delay. In fact, for some reasons, the delay will be satisfactory to me.”
“If such are your views, we shall probably gain our point,” said Mr. Robinson. “It will take some time to bring up the parties to the point, but in six months I think it can be effected, if we stand firm. Will six months be too long?”
“Not at all. We will stand firm.”
The conversation now touched upon matters of detail, on which we need not enter. It is enough to say that Mr. Robinson and his client agreed upon the policy advisable to be pursued, and the former agreed to keep the latter constantly apprised of the progress of the negotiation.
I must stop here to explain why it was that Squire Turner was in no hurry to bring the matter to a conclusion. Nine months only had passed since Mr. Raymond’s death, and an offer of marriage on his part to Mrs. Raymond would, he felt, be considered premature, and be very probably declined. Now, if the matter were settled at once in favor of Mrs. Raymond, she was liable at any time to be made aware of it in some unforeseen way, and, if thus made pecuniarily independent, the squire felt that she would prefer not to contract a second marriage. He counted upon obtaining her consent for the sake of her child, whom he could support in comfort and afford more advantages, which otherwise the mother would be quite unable to provide. It therefore suited his purposes better that the matter should be protracted for, say six months, when a sufficient time would have elapsed, since Mr. Raymond’s death, to make his proposal proper.
Squire Turner returned from his western trip, and, of course, took an early opportunity to call on Mrs. Raymond.
“Did you have a pleasant journey?” asked the widow.
“Very. By the way, I stopped at Milwaukie on my return.”
“Did you hear anything of the warrant?”