William dropped his driving whip into the socket and reached across his hand. It was his way of sealing the contract.
Ralph seized it in a moment.
"This is the proudest day of my life!" William said. And there were distinct traces of emotion in his voice.
"I hope you will not be sorry later on," Ralph answered dubiously.
"Never!" was the firm reply. And he thought of Ruth, and wondered what the future had in store for him.
For the rest of the way they drove in silence. There were things in the lives of both too sacred to be talked about.
CHAPTER XXXII
FOOD FOR REFLECTION
There was widespread interest of a mild kind when it became known in St. Goram that Sir John Hamblyn had disposed of the freehold of Hillside Farm. It was an action altogether unprecedented in the history of the Hamblyn family. What it portended no one knew, but it seemed to crystallise into a concrete fact all the rumours that had been in circulation for the last two or three years.