had a ring of pain in it, and was not merely the laugh of a shy young
man under an impossible imputation. True, I knew he was not a
religious man, but to believe actual ill of him seemed to me
impossible.

He had set himself to survey the Arghouse estate, so as to see how
those dying wishes of his father could best be carried out, and he
was making himself thoroughly acquainted with every man, woman,
child, and building, to the intense jealousy of Bullock, who had been
agent all through my mother's time, and had it all his own way. He
could not think why "Mr. Harold" should be always hovering about the
farms and cottages, sometimes using his own ready colonial hand to
repair deficiencies, and sometimes his purse, and making the people
take fancies into their heads that were never there before, and which
would make Mr. Alison lose hundreds a year if they were attended to.
And as Mr. Alison always did attend to his cousin, and gave orders
accordingly, the much-aggrieved Bullock had no choice but in delaying
their execution and demonstrating their impracticability, whereas, of
course, Harold did not believe in impossibilities.

It was quite true, as he had once said, that though he could not
bring about improvements as readily as if he had been landlord, yet
he could get at the people much better, and learn their own point of
view of what was good for them. They were beginning to idolise him;
for, indeed, there was a fascination about him which no one could
resist. I sometimes wondered what it was, considering that he was so
slow of speech, and had so little sunshine of mirth about him.

I never did enforce my title of Aunt, in spite of Miss Woolmer's
advice. It sounded too ridiculous, and would have hindered the