Quite silently Deerehurst bent forward again.
"What is the amount?" he asked softly.
"A thousand pounds."
"And is Barnard such a very great friend?"
Clodagh started.
"No! Oh no! Why?" She turned quickly and looked at him.
"Because I wish to know why it should be Barnard."
There was a long silence, in which she felt her heart beat uncomfortably fast. A sudden surprise—a sudden confusion—filled her. Then, through the confusion, she was conscious that Deerehurst was speaking again.
"Why should you think of Barnard?" he murmured. "Barnard is not a rich man. To advance you a thousand pounds may possibly inconvenience him; whereas a man who need not consider ways and means——"
Clodagh sat very still.