“I am aware of the fact. But this is not a claim of an ordinary kind; it is a claim that rests on equity—on equity, not on Law.”
“What is the equitable side of the claim?”
“Well, it’s this way: My grandfather, who failed for an enormous amount—which showed the position he occupied in the City—married my grandmother in the reasonable expectation that she would bring him a fortune. It is true that the old man was then not more than fifty or so, but he did not count so much on a will as on a settlement.”
“I understand that the marriage was undertaken without consultation with my great-grandfather, or, under the circumstances, with his solicitors.”
“That was, no doubt, the case; but when one marries into so wealthy a family, and when the head of it is not in a position to be consulted, the least that can be expected is a settlement—a settlement of some kind. My grandfather said that he expected nothing less than twenty thousand—twenty thousand. He dated his subsequent misfortunes to the failure of this expectation, because he got nothing. Perhaps, Mr. Campaigne, as you were not born then, you can hardly believe that he got nothing.”
“I am in ignorance of the whole business.”
“Quite so—quite so. I think, therefore, that I am quite justified in asking your people to pay me just the bare sum—out-of-pocket expenses—which we have expended upon my grandmother.”
“Oh!”
The tone was not encouraging, but the other man was not versed in these external signs, and went on, unabashed:
“You saw yourself the other day the style in which we live, I believe, Mr. Campaigne; you will acknowledge that it was a noble Tea.”