Christina was too ill
and in too great a hurry to spend the money to care much about such
details as the foregoing, and she was naturally much more good-natured
than Theobald.
"This piece of good fortune"--she saw it at a glance--"quite wiped out
the disgrace of his having been imprisoned. There should be no more
nonsense about that. The whole thing was a mistake, an unfortunate
mistake, true, but the less said about it now the better. Of course
Ernest would come back and live at Battersby until he was married, and he
would pay his father handsomely for board and lodging. In fact it would
be only right that Theobald should make a profit, nor would Ernest
himself wish it to be other than a handsome one; this was far the best
and simplest arrangement; and he could take his sister out more than
Theobald or Joey cared to do, and would also doubtless entertain very
handsomely at Battersby.
"Of course he would buy Joey a living, and make large presents yearly to
his sister--was there anything else? Oh! yes--he would become a county
magnate now; a man with nearly 4000 pounds a year should certainly become
a county magnate. He might even go into Parliament.
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