She must be silenced somehow.
"Excuse me for changing the subject," he said, "but my time is short,
and I have none to spare to hunt the 'Vicarage Ghost.' By the way,
there's a good title for somebody. Mr. Granger, I believe that I may
speak of business matters before Miss Elizabeth?"
"Certainly, Mr. Bingham," said the clergyman; "Elizabeth is my right
hand, and has the best business head in Bryngelly."
Geoffrey thought that this was very evident, and went on. "I only want
to say this. If you get into any further difficulties with your rascally
tithe-payers, mind and let me know. I shall always be glad to help you
while I can. And now I must be going."
He spoke thus for two reasons. First, naturally enough, he meant to make
it his business to protect Beatrice from the pressure of poverty, and
well knew that it would be useless to offer her direct assistance.
Secondly, he wished to show Elizabeth that it would not be to the
advantage of her family to quarrel with him. If she _had_ seen a ghost,
perhaps this fact would make her reticent on the subject. He did not
know that she was playing a much bigger game for her own hand, a game
of which the stakes were thousands a year, and that she was moreover mad
with jealousy and what, in such a woman, must pass for love.
Pages:
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397