gouty, fiery-tempered old Earl loving any one very much; but he knew it
would be to his interest to be kind, in his irritable way, to the child
who was to be his heir. He knew, too, that if Ceddie were at all a
credit to his name, his grandfather would be proud of him.

"Lord Fauntleroy will be comfortable, I am sure," he replied. "It was
with a view to his happiness that the Earl desired that you should be
near enough to him to see him frequently."

He did not think it would be discreet to repeat the exact words the Earl
had used, which were in fact neither polite nor amiable.

Mr. Havisham preferred to express his noble patron's offer in smoother
and more courteous language.

He had another slight shock when Mrs. Errol asked Mary to find her
little boy and bring him to her, and Mary told her where he was.

"Sure I'll foind him aisy enough, ma'am," she said; "for it's wid Mr.
Hobbs he is this minnit, settin' on his high shtool by the counther an'
talkin' pollytics, most loikely, or enj'yin' hisself among the soap an'
candles an' pertaties, as sinsible an' shwate as ye plase."

"Mr. Hobbs has known him all his life," Mrs. Errol said to the lawyer.
"He is very kind to Ceddie, and there is a great friendship between
them."

Remembering the glimpse he had caught of the store as he passed it,
and having a recollection of the barrels of potatoes and apples and
the various odds and ends, Mr. Havisham felt his doubts arise again.