Lady Ludlow felt what was coming--a reference to the mortgage for the
benefit of my lord's Scottish estates, which, she was perfectly aware,
Mr. Horner considered as having been a most unwise proceeding--and she
hastened to observe--"All this may be very true, Mr. Horner, and I am
sure I should be the last person to wish you to overwork or distress
yourself; but of that we will talk another time. What I am now anxious
to remedy is, if possible, the state of this poor little Gregson's mind.
Would not hard work in the fields be a wholesome and excellent way of
enabling him to forget?"

"I was in hopes, my lady, that you would have permitted me to bring him
up to act as a kind of clerk," said Mr. Horner, jerking out his project
abruptly.

"A what?" asked my lady, in infinite surprise.

"A kind of--of assistant, in the way of copying letters and doing up
accounts. He is already an excellent penman and very quick at figures."

"Mr. Horner," said my lady, with dignity, "the son of a poacher and
vagabond ought never to have been able to copy letters relating to the
Hanbury estates; and, at any rate, he shall not. I wonder how it is
that, knowing the use he has made of his power of reading a letter, you
should venture to propose such an employment for him as would require his
being in your confidence, and you the trusted agent of this family. Why,
every secret (and every ancient and honourable family has its secrets, as
you know, Mr. Horner) would be learnt off by heart, and repeated to the
first comer!"