Page:Doctor Thorne.djvu/272

268 such reliance on your prudence, and such perfect confidence in your friendship, I have thought it best to come and speak to you openly:' thereupon the Lady Arabella paused, and the doctor bowed again.

'Nobody knows so well as you do the dreadful state of the squire's affairs.'

'Not so very dreadful; not so very dreadful,' said the doctor, mildly: 'that is, as far as I know.'

'Yes they are, doctor; very dreadful; very dreadful indeed. You know how much he owes to this young man: I do not, for the squire never tells anything to me; but I know that it is a very large sum of money; enough to swamp the estate and ruin Frank. Now I call that very dreadful.'

'No, no, not ruin him, Lady Arabella; not ruin him, I hope.'

'However, I did not come to talk to you about that. As I said before, I know nothing of the squire's affairs, and, as a matter of course, I do not ask you to tell me. But I am sure you will agree with me in this, that, as a mother, I cannot but be interested about my only son,' and Lady Arabella put her cambric handkerchief to her eyes.

'Of course you are; of course you are,' said the doctor; 'and, Lady Arabella, my opinion of Frank is such, that I feel sure that he will do well;' and, in his energy, Dr. Thorne brandished one of the thigh-bones almost in the lady's face.

'I hope he will; I am sure I hope he will. But, doctor, he has such dangers to contend with; he is so warm and impulsive that I fear his heart will bring him into trouble. Now, you know, unless Frank marries money he is lost.'

The doctor made no answer to this last appeal, but as he sat and listened a slight frown came across his brow.

'He must marry money, doctor. Now we have, you see, with your assistance, contrived to separate him from dear Mary—'

'With my assistance, Lady Arabella! I have given no assistance, nor have I meddled in the matter; nor will I.'

'Well, doctor, perhaps not meddled; but you agreed with me, you know, that the two young people had been imprudent.'

'I agreed to no such thing, Lady Arabella; never, never. I not only never agreed that Mary had been imprudent, but I will not agree to it now, and will not allow any one to assert it in my presence without contradicting it:' and then the doctor worked away at the thigh-bones in a manner that did rather alarm her ladyship.

'At any rate, you thought that the young people had better be kept apart.'