"No, dear Morris trusts me very completely," said Taynton. "But, then,
if I may continue my little review of the situation, as it now stands,
you and your talk with Sir Richard have vastly decreased the danger of
his marrying. For, to be frank, I should not feel at all secure if that
happened. Miss Templeton is an heiress herself, and Morris might easily
take it into his head to spend ten or fifteen thousand pounds in building
a house or buying an estate, and though I think I have guarded against
his requiring an account of our stewardship, I can't prevent his wishing
to draw a large sum of money. But your brilliant manoeuvre may, we hope,
effectually put a stop to the danger of his marrying Miss Templeton,
and since I am convinced he is in love with her, why"--Mr. Taynton put
his plump finger-tips together and raised his kind eyes to the
ceiling--"why, the chance of his wanting to marry anybody else is
postponed anyhow, till, till he has got over this unfortunate attachment.
In fact, my dear fellow, there is no longer anything immediate to fear,
and I feel sure that before many weeks are up, the misfortunes and ill
luck which for the last two years have dogged us with such incredible
persistency will be repaired."

Mills said nothing for the moment but splashed himself out a liberal
allowance of brandy into his glass, and mixed it with a somewhat more
carefully measured ration of soda. He was essentially a sober man, but
that was partly due to the fact that his head was as impervious to
alcohol as teak is to water, and it was his habit to indulge in two, and
those rather stiff, brandies and sodas of an evening. He found that they
assisted and clarified thought.

"I wish to heaven you hadn't found it necessary to let young Assheton
know that his £30,000 had increased to £40,000," he said. "That's £10,000
more to get back."