"You could come down again?"
"If it were worth it, yes."
He smoked thoughtfully and proceeded. "It does seem a chance, and I'm awfully grateful to you and all that for providing it. But supposing the widow is not to be caught, and who's to tell? She knows her own value, you bet—I should be up a tree if I had had a row with the Koellners. I don't want to fall between two stools, you know."
It ended in this, that he was to present himself at Boldero Abbey on the following day, armed with an excuse; and that, as things developed, further counsel as to further progression should be taken.
It was left to Sir Thomas to cast a damper over their hopes. He was not told about them, but he would have been a simpleton indeed if he had not seen for himself—neither his wife nor nephew being wary conspirators,—and directly he was alone with the former, he spoke out with conjugal frankness.
"You think yourself mighty clever? Look out. You have old Boldero to deal with."
"But, my dear, Leonore is quite independent of her father."
"A child like that is never independent. The more money she has, the sharper he will look after it."
"If she chooses to marry again——"
"Now look here, Laura, if Godfrey Stubbs' widow chooses to marry again, she may marry anybody. Anybody, d'ye take me? Is it likely she'd take George? Who's George? What's George? An eighth son, and nothing at that. Not even clever or good-looking."