“My Dear Wopper, Got yer letter all right.
“My blissin’ to the poor widdy. Help her? ov coorse I’ll help her. You did right in advancin’ the money, though you fell short, by a long way, when you advanced so little. Hows’ever, no matter. I gave you my last will an’ testimony w’en we parted. Here’s a noo un. Inside o’ this, if I don’t forget it before I’ve done, you’ll find a cheque for thirteen thousand pounds sterling. Give three to the widdy, with my respects; give four to dear Emma Gray, with my best love and blissin’; give two to Mister Lewis, with my compliments; an’ give four to young Lawrence, with my benediction, for his father’s sake. As for the old ’ooman Roby, you don’t need to give nothin’ to her. She and I understand each other. I’ll look after her myself. I’ll make her my residooary legatee, an’ wotever else is needful; but, in the meantime, you may as well see that she’s got all that she wants. Build her a noo house too. I’m told that Grubb’s Court ain’t exactly aristocratic or clean; see to that. Wotever you advance out o’ yer own pocket, I’ll pay back with interest. That’s to begin with, tell ’em. There’s more comin’. There—I’m used up wi’ writin’ such a long screed. I’d raither dig a twenty-futt hole in clay sile any day.—Yours to command, Willum.
“P.S.—You ain’t comin’ back soon—are you?”
“Now, mother, what d’ee think o’ that?” said the Captain, folding the letter and putting it in his pocket.
“It’s a good, kind letter—just like William,” answered the old woman.
“Well, so I’m inclined to think,” rejoined the Captain, busying himself about breakfast while he spoke; “it provides for everybody in a sort o’ way, and encourages ’em to go on hopeful like—don’t it strike you so? Then, you see, that’s four to Miss Emma, and four to Dr Lawrence, which would be eight, equal to four hundred a year; and that, with the practice he’s gettin’ into, would make it six, or thereabouts—not bad to begin with, eh?”
The Captain followed his remark with a sigh.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mrs Roby.
“Why, you remember, mother, before goin’ abroad I set my heart on these two gettin’ spliced; but I fear it’s no go. Sometimes I think they looks fond o’ one another, at other times I don’t. It’s a puzzler. They’re both young an’ good-lookin’ an’ good. What more would they have?”
“Perhaps they want money,” suggested the old woman. “You say Dr Lawrence’s income just now is about two hundred; well, gentlefolks find it summat difficult to keep house on that, though it’s plenty for the likes of you an’ me.”
“That’s true. P’r’aps the Doctor is sheerin’ off for fear o’ draggin’ a young creeter into poverty. It never struck me in that light before.”
Beaming under the influence of this hopeful view of the case, the Captain proceeded to make another move in the complicated game which he had resolved to play out and win; but this move, which he had considered one of the easiest of all, proved to be the most unfortunate, or rather unmanageable.