Thousands, Mr.
Bygrave--thousands of pounds sterling out of my pocket!!!" He clasped
his hands in despair at the picture of pecuniary compulsion which his
fancy had conjured up--his own golden life-blood spouting from him in
great jets of prodigality, under the lancet of Mrs. Lecount.
"Gently, Mr. Vanstone--gently! The woman knows nothing so far, and the
money is not gone yet."
"No, no; the money is not gone, as you say. I'm only nervous about it;
I can't help being nervous. You were saying something just now; you were
going to give me advice. I value your advice; you don't know how highly
I value your advice." He said those words with a conciliatory smile
which was more than helpless; it was absolutely servile in its
dependence on his judicious friend.
"I was only assuring you, my dear sir, that I understood your position,"
said the captain. "I see your difficulty as plainly as you can see it
yourself. Tell a woman like Mrs. Lecount that she must come off her
domestic throne, to make way for a young and beautiful successor,
armed with the authority of a wife, and an unpleasant scene must be the
inevitable result. An unpleasant scene, Mr. Vanstone, if your opinion of
your housekeeper's sanity is well founded.
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