“God bless you, Letty!” he said heartily; “I know very well where you came from!—and I don’t want any picture but yourself to remind me of the fact!”
CHAPTER IV
That evening, after Boy had gone to bed, Miss Leslie and the Major discussed the possibilities of his future with great and affectionate interest.
“Of course,” said Desmond, “it is a splendid chance for the boy,—but, Letty, that is just the very reason that I am afraid he will not be allowed to have it. The affairs of humanity are arranged in a very curiously jumbled-up fashion, and I have always found that when some specially good luck appears about to favour a deserving person, something unfavourable comes in the way and prevents him getting it. And Fortune frequently showers her choicest gifts on the most unworthy scoundrels, male and female, that burden this earth’s surface. It’s odd—it’s unfair, but it’s true.”
“Not always,” said Miss Leslie, gently. “You really must not get into the habit of looking on the worst side of life, Dick.”
“I won’t,” responded the Major promptly—“at least, not when you’re looking at me. Out of your sight I can do as I like!”
Miss Letty laughed. Then she returned to the chief subject of interest.
“You see,” she said, “it is not as if the D’Arcy-Muirs were rich and had plenty of opportunities for their son’s advance in life. They certainly have enough to live comfortably on, if they are frugal and careful, but the man is so incorrigible——”
“And the woman,” put in Major Desmond.
“Well, yes—she too is incorrigible in another way,—but after all slovenliness can scarcely be called a sin.”