is not himself at the present moment actually one of the firm of
Cossey and Son, but he is the hair of the head of the house, and of
course has authority, and, what is better still, the command of
money."

"I understand," said Ida. "You mean that my father should try to win
over Mr. Edward Cossey. Unfortunately, to be frank, he dislikes him,
and my father is not a man to keep his dislikes to himself."

"People generally do dislike those to whom they are crushingly
indebted; your father dislikes Mr. Cossey because his name is Cossey,
and for no other reason. But that is not quite what I meant--I do not
think that the Squire is the right person to undertake a negotiation
of the sort. He is a little too outspoken and incautious. No, Miss de
la Molle, if it is to be done at all /you/ must do it. You must put
the whole case before him at once--this very afternoon, there is no
time for delay; you need not enter into details, he knows all about
them--only ask him to avert this catastrophe. He can do so if he
likes, how he does it is his own affair."

"But, Mr. Quest," said Ida, "how can I ask such a favour of any man? I
shall be putting myself in a dreadfully false position."

"I do not pretend, Miss de la Molle, that it is a pleasant task for
any young lady to undertake. I quite understand your shrinking from
it. But sometimes one has to do unpleasant things and make compromises
with one's self-respect. It is a question whether or no your family
shall be utterly ruined and destroyed. There is, as I honestly
believe, no prospect whatever of your father being able to get the
money to pay off Cossey and Son, and if he did, it would not help him,