“Now, my dears, I want to say something to you.”
They both looked at him attentively.
“I am going to take you, Florence, and you, Brenda, to see my old friend, Lady Marian Dixie. She is an elderly woman and full of the milk of human kindness. She will talk to you herself, and I will not tell you beforehand what she is likely to say: indeed, it would be difficult for me to do so, for I do not know myself. Afterwards, the probabilities are that you, Florence, will go back to Langdale, and that Brenda will stay with Lady Marian.”
“What?” said Brenda with a start.
Mr Timmins looked at her with affection.
“That is what is most likely to happen,” he said: “but I can’t tell you anything. You must both be obedient and good, for the present, and allow me to guide you. I have your very best interests at heart. I am a friend to you both, as I was to your father and your mother before you. Lady Marian also knew your mother well. Don’t forget that when you are talking to her to-day.”
“And I,” said Florence, “am I to tell Mrs Fortescue—”
“Nothing of the sort, my dear: I should be sorry to give you such a piece of work. I will myself write to Mrs Fortescue, and tell her that her services, as far as you both are concerned, will come to an end on the twentieth of January, that Brenda has found a home—as I expect will be probable—with Lady Marian Dixie, and that she will be paid for you both until that date.”
“And I?” said Florence, once more.
“Ah, Florence,” said the old lawyer; “better things may be in store for you; but time will prove. There is nothing, my dear, in all the world, like disinterested affection, like the true, true homage of the heart, which has nothing to do with money nor outward accessories. In fact, my dear girls, I may as well tell you that I have the greatest horror of those men who are known as fortune seekers, the men who court girls simply because they want their money. A girl who has not money has a very poor chance in the society in which she usually moves. I do not know which is the worst off, the handsome poor girl who is attracted by the rich parvenu and marries him for his wealth, or the handsome poor man who marries the rich girl because of her money. You, my dears, will at least be saved from this calamity. But now, come; I have ordered the brougham to be ready for us at a quarter-past one, and I think the time is up. I will ring for Andrews. You, Florence, will be on your way back to Langdale soon after three o’clock, so we have not too much time to spare.”