The firm
had strongly represented to Sir Nigel that certain resources should not
be diverted from the proper object of restoring the property, which
was entailed upon his son. The son's future should beyond all have been
considered in the dispensing of his mother's fortune.
He, by this time, comprehended fully that he need restrain no dignified
expression of opinion in his speech with this young lady. She had
come to consult with him with as clear a view of the proprieties and
discretions demanded by his position as he had himself. And yet each,
before the close of the interview, understood the point of view of the
other. What he recognised was that, though she had not seen Sir Nigel
since her childhood, she had in some astonishing way obtained an
extraordinary insight into his character, and it was this which had led
her to take her present step. She might not realise all she might have
to contend with, but her conservative and formal action had surrounded
her and her sister with a certain barrier of conventional protection, at
once self-controlled, dignified, and astutely intelligent.
"Since, as you say, no structural changes are proposed, such as an owner
might resent, and as Lady Anstruthers is the mother of the heir, and as
Lady Anstruthers' father undertakes to defray all expenditure, no sane
man could object to the restoration of the property.
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