"I tell you it has come true!" he exclaimed. "The chance of a lifetime—a mere matter of fortunate speculation."
"Fortunate what?" demanded Aubrey contemptuously. "Where did you get the money to speculate?"
"Borrowed capital," replied Meggison promptly. "What do you know of such matters? I hear of a great many things in the world—stocks and shares—this going up—that going down. It might have happened that I had plunged the family deeper into ruin even than before; that was a risk I had to take. But no"—he shook his head, and smiled with deep wisdom—"I knew from the beginning that I was right. A pound or two in the right direction—and a pound or two added to that. It mounted; it grew into a perfect snowball, which, rolling on, added to itself with every movement. So that to-night I stand before you revealed in my true colours. To all intents and purposes I am a rich man!"
She broke down then for the first time. It never occurred to her for a moment to doubt him; indeed she had always been secretly a little proud of this man, who was a little better, in the matter of dignity and deportment, than his fellows of Arcadia Street. Her life had at all times been a surprising thing of chances; this greater chance that had come was only what might in her dreams have been expected. Practical only in the matter of dealing with the small details of her daily life, she was utterly unpractical where it came to any question of dealing with the world. This was but a coming true of all the best dreams she had ever had.
She called him her dear, dear father; she blessed and praised him for his cleverness; she called the astonished Aubrey to witness that she had said over and over again that if only father had his chance he would do better than anyone. They were not to mind her tears; she had perhaps been a little tired and a little troubled at times; but all that was done with now, and they should see her bright and smiling. Above all, they had never had any real chance to show the best that was in them in the life that was done with from to-night!
Mr. Aubrey Meggison was a little stunned. Feeling that perhaps it might be well if he ranged himself on the side of this new financier, he somewhat flabbily shook the hand of his parent, and murmured "Good old guv'nor!" as an encouragement to that gentleman to do even better yet. And then in a bewildered way, with Amelia the servant almost light-headed from sheer excitement, they sat down to a hastily provided supper, the better to discuss details.
"Of course you will understand that I have kept it all secret; I intended to spring a surprise upon you," said Daniel Meggison, between bites at an unaccustomed delicacy. "And I have done nothing by halves; in fact, I may tell you that I have already provided a place in the country—a mere modest cottage. Charming spot—Fiddler's Green, Sussex," he added carelessly, with a secret determination to discover from Gilbert exactly in what part of Sussex Fiddler's Green was situated.
"Oh, my dear!" whispered Bessie under her breath, as she looked at this new wonder. "The country—and a cottage! Is it a large cottage, father dear?"
"Largish," said Mr. Meggison cautiously. "Roomy place—and well furnished. Fishing, I understand, and other pursuits of a like nature."