Elizabeth's expression showed her sceptical.
'And the timber?'
'Just where you left it. The rascally fellows want all sorts of conditions. You may accept them if you like—I won't. But I told them we'd meet them in the woods to-morrow—you, and Dell and I. And Chicksands, who likes poking his nose into everything, is coming too.'
'Sir Henry?' asked Elizabeth in astonishment.
'Well, I thought you might like the old boy's opinion, so I rang him up on that horrid thing you've put into the office. I don't care about his opinion in the least!'
A treat arranged for her return! Elizabeth felt as if she were being offered Sir Henry's head on a charger.
'That will be a great help!' she said with rather artificial enthusiasm, at which the Squire only shrugged his shoulders. 'Has Sir Henry been over here—'
'While you've been away? Nothing of the sort. He's not crossed the threshold since I turned him out six months ago. But he's coming all the same—as mild as milk.'
'Very good of him!' said Elizabeth with spirit.
'That's as you choose to look at it. And as to everything else—'