"The best of friends."
"And all the time I am away you will never cease to think of me as your best friend?"
"Never."
It almost made her cry, she could not tell why, to hear him asking such a question.
"And should you be in any need of aid or advice, you will let me know at once?"
"At once."
There was a pause during which Mrs. Grant entered the room.
The baronet got up, and sitting down beside the widow, said to both the women:
"I had a chat with Mr. Grey to-day apropos of my going, and nothing could have been nicer or more gratifying. He is, without exception, the most straightforward and honourably-minded man I have ever met. He has, Mrs. Grant, not only undertaken to keep his eye on the workmen when they come here, but he has without any hint or suggestion on my part, proposed not to do anything final with Maud's fortune until I return. And, in addition to all this, he will pay all the legacies out of his own pocket and at his own risk. Maud, I cannot say how grateful I am that you have fallen into such excellent hands. You may place yourself wholly under his direction while I am away. You need not consult me on any subject of business; you will be quite safe with him, and he has a thousand times my knowledge of business."
"Did I not tell you so?" asked Mrs. Grant of Miss Midharst.