“Don’t talk nonsense,” he cut in. “You know you want Kolsnäs like dear life.”
Peter felt a mixture of fear and secret admiration for his brother’s brilliancy and his careless way of handling money. Stellan was, as a matter of fact, much more difficult to trick than he had believed. Peter held nearly all Stellan’s shares in Selambshof as security, but he didn’t own them and there was a damned big difference between the two things. But now this fine gentleman must surely be in a difficult dilemma as he came so early in the morning.
“You seem to imagine that I lie dreaming about Kolsnäs since you come whilst I am still in bed,” ventured Peter cunningly.
“I come from one of Laura’s shows. It was there I saw this opportunity. The matter is urgent. Levy is after the estate. What do you offer?”
“Well, five thousand!”
Stellan laughed aloud:
“Ridiculous! I want fifty thousand.”
Now it was Peter’s turn to laugh.
“You are mad. You have no idea what a big sum fifty thousand is.”
“Fifty thousand. Not a farthing less.”