“I was going to answer this letter,” said Mr Auriol—“I could not do so till I had Mr Morison’s permission to tell the whole, which caused some delay—but I was just going to answer it when I got Arthur’s telegram, telling me of her death. You see, the date is very recent;” and he held out the letter to Nina, who leant eagerly forward, while Lettice held herself stiffly aloof. “I managed to see Mr Morison before I came away—had I not done so, my coming would not have been of much use—and got his answers to all I had to ask him. And this is what he says. He accepts the trusteeship of your money unconditionally, for which you cannot be too thankful. The guardianship which he might legally decline—for he is not forced to accept what he had not first been asked about—he accepts, too, but only to a certain extent. He will not interfere with you in any way disagreeable to you, unless positively obliged to do so. He leaves details to me: if I am satisfied, he will be so. At the same time he earnestly wishes to be to you all not only a guardian but an uncle. I am empowered to invite you all, as soon as you can leave here, to go to his country house, and remain there as long as you like—in any case till some definite arrangement can be made for you.”
“Never!” exclaimed Lettice, interrupting Mr Auriol. “Nina, Arthur, you will support me in this?”
Godfrey waited till she was silent, but then, without giving the others time to reply, he went on. “It is premature for you to give any answer as yet. Allow me to go on with what I have to say, without interrupting me, till I have fulfilled my commission. Mr Morison also wished me to say that, if Arthur has any taste for business, he will give him a position in his firm such as he would to a son of his own, if he had one.”
Arthur’s colour rose, and he seemed as if about to say something, but he checked himself. Not so Lettice.
“Arthur is going into the army, like papa. He is going up for Woolwich next Christmas. That has been decided long ago.”
Again with ceremonious politeness Mr Auriol waited till she left off speaking. Then, without taking the slightest notice of what she had said, he proceeded, “Or, if Arthur chooses any other career, he will do his best to help him. I think that is the substance of what I have to say to you from your uncle. You will give me an answer before I leave—some days before, indeed—the day after to-morrow, suppose we say. It will be the greatest possible satisfaction to me if you accept your uncle’s invitation. If not, there is no time to be lost in arranging something else.”
“We are quite ready to tell you what we intend doing—now at once, if you choose,” said Lettice.
“Not now. I wish you to think it over, and consult together,” he replied. “And I must tell you frankly that what you intend doing is not the question. You may tell me what you wish, with all freedom; and if I can, I will help you to carry out your wishes. But if I do not approve of them, I am bound by every consideration to tell you so, and to forbid them. If this sounds very ungracious, I am sorry for it, but I cannot help it. Having undertaken a very,”—here he hesitated, and evidently substituted a milder word for the one that had been on his lips—“onerous task, I will carry it out to the best of my power. But it rests with you three to make it a painful or pleasant one.”
He rose as he spoke. Nina rose, too, and held out her hand.
“Thank you, Cousin Godfrey,” she said simply, “for all your kindness.”