But Clodagh scarcely heard. Her hand had dropped to her side, and she stood staring blankly at her aunt.
"You mean to say that he's going to pay father's debts—our debts?"
"Yes. He even wants to put the place into good repair. Poor Denis seems to have cast a perfect spell over him."
"Then we'll owe him something we can never possibly repay!"
Mrs. Asshlin drew herself up.
"Not exactly owe," she corrected. "It is an—an act of friendship. The Asshlins have never been indebted to any one for a favour. Of course Mr. Milbanke is a wealthy man; and it's easy to be generous when you have money——"
She heaved a sigh.
But Clodagh stood staring vacantly at the opposite wall.
"It's a debt all the same," she said, after a long pause. "I suppose it is what father used to call a debt of honour."
She spoke in a slow, mechanical voice; then, as if moved to action by her train of thought, she turned without waiting for her aunt's comment, and walked out of the room.