notwithstanding all his care she suspected him, by instinct, not by
knowledge. For his part he was proud of her and would listen with
pleasure when, still a mere child, she engaged his guests boldly in
argument, for instance a bishop or a dean on theology, or a statesman
on current politics. Already he had formed great plans for her future;
she was to marry a peer who took an active part in things, or at any
rate a leading politician, and to become a power in the land. But of
this, too, wisely he said nothing to Isobel, for the time had not yet
come.

During these years things had prospered exceedingly with John Blake
who was now a very rich man with ships owned, or partly owned by him
on every sea. On several occasions he had been asked to stand for
Parliament and declined the honour. He knew himself to be no speaker,
and was sure also that he could not attend both to the affairs of the
country and to those of his ever-spreading business. So he took
another course and began to support the Conservative Party, which he
selected as the safest, by means of large subscriptions.

He did more, he bought a baronetcy, for only thus can the transaction
be described. When a General Election was drawing near, one evening
after dinner at Hawk's Hall he had a purely business conversation with
a political Whip who, perhaps not without motive, had been complaining
to him of the depleted state of the Party Chest.

"Well," said Mr. Blake, "you know that my principles are yours and
that I should like to help your, or rather our cause. Money is tight
with me just now and the outlook is very bad in my trade, but I'm a
man who always backs his fancy; in short, would L15,000 be of use?"