“I do, and will give you twenty pounds if you deliver it.”
“Hand me the money quietly,” replied Corbet, “and the note also. I shall then give you a friend's advice.”
The stranger immediately placed both the money and the note in his hands; when Corbet, having put them in his pocket, said, “I will deliver the note, sir; but go to my father, and ask him to prevent this marriage; and, above all things, to direct you how to act. If any man can serve you in the business, he can.”
“Could you not let me see Miss Gourlay herself?” said the stranger.
“No, sir; she has promised her father neither to see you, nor to write to you, nor to receive any letters from you.”
“But I must see Sir Thomas himself,” said the stranger determinedly.
“You seem a good deal excited, sir,” replied Corbet; “pray, be calm, and listen to me. I shall be obliged to put this letter under a blank cover, which I will address in a feigned hand, in order that she may even receive it. As for her father, he would not see you, nor enter into any explanation whatsoever with you. In fact, he is almost out of his mind with delight and terror; with delight, that the marriage is at length about to take place, and with terror, lest something might occur to prevent it. One word, sir. I see Gibson peeping up. Go and see my father; you have seen him more than once before.”
On the part of Corbet, the stranger remarked that there was something sneaking, slightly derisive, and intimating, moreover, a want of sincerity in this short dialogue, an impression that was strengthened on hearing the relation which he bore to the obstinate old sphinx on Constitution Hill.
“But pardon me, my friend,” said he, as Corbet was about to go away; “if Miss Gourlay will not receive or open my letter, why did you accept such a sum of money for it?” He paused, not knowing exactly how to proceed, yet with a tolerably strong suspicion that Corbet was cheating him.
“Observe, sir,” replied the other, “that I said I would deliver the letter only—I didn't undertake to make her read it. But I dare say you are right—I don't think she will even open it at all, much less read it. Here, sir, I return both money and letter; and I wish you to know, besides, that I am not a man in the habit of being suspected of improper motives. My advice that you should see my father is a proof that I am your friend.”