This, perhaps, would
relieve your most pressing anxieties, and it would be a great pleasure
to me to serve you.
"Yours, with sincerest regards and sympathy,
CHARLES GERMAIN."
"That's a jolly nice letter!" exclaimed Ted.
"Yes, mother," said Will, handing it back to her, "I don't see anything
the matter with that."
Mrs. Carter drew herself up proudly. "Don't you see," said she, "that he
_puts me off!_ I asked him to extricate me from this difficulty, to
defend for me _my rights!_ In reply he offers me, as if I were a beggar,
employment for my sons. Practically, he takes the part of old Hand.
O, I've no patience with such men! I'm serious!"
"Well, mother, you must allow," said Will, "that if Mr. Germain says so,
it's no use thinking of going to law against old Hand, is it? As for
Mr. Germain's kind offer to find places for Ted and me, why, if the worst
comes to the worst, that wouldn't be _too_ bad. We could live pretty
comfortably in Barchester with our little salaries and your clever
housekeeping. But maybe we won't have to leave here after all! _That's_
what Ted and I have been up to all summer. We anticipated that Mr. Germain
would disappoint you; but we wouldn't say so. Our plan is to _sell the
new marsh_, when we get it diked in, and with the proceeds pay off Hand's
mortgage with all the arrears of interest. There ought to be something
left over, too!"
"But I was proposing--I wanted to deed that piece of marsh to you boys!"
objected Mrs.
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