Wewereusheredinbythatsameservaheywere,thetwooldgentlemen。Ofcourse,theyweresurprisedtoseethatwonderfulcreaturewithme,butIsaid:
"It&apentlemen;sheismyfuturestayae。"
AndIioher,ahembydidn'tsurprisethem;theykneenoughtosultthedirectory。Theyseatedus,aetome,andverysolicitoustorelieveherfromembarrassment,andputherasmuchathereaseastheyIsaid:
"Gentlemeoreport。"
&quladtohearit,"saidmyman,"fornowwedecidethebetwhichmybrotherAbelandImade。Ifyouhavewonforme,youshallhaveanysituationinmygift。Haveyouthemillion-pou;
"Hereitis,sir,"aohim。
"I'vewoed,andslappedAbelonthebaowwhatdoyousay,brother?""Isayhedidsurvive,andI'velosttwentythousandpounds。Ineverwouldhavebelievedit。"
"What,maeofdepositfor$200,000。Isityours?"
"Mihirtydays'judicioususeofthatlittleloamehave。AndtheonlyuseImadeofitwastobuytriflesahebilli;
"e,thisisastonishing!It'sincredible,man!"
"Nevermind,I'llproveit。Don'ttakemywordu;
Butnoos;sturobesurprised。Hereyeswerespreadwide,andshesaid:
"Henry,isthatreallyyourmoney?Haveyoubeenfibbi;
"Ihave,iyou&apiveme,Iknow。"
&upanardsaid:
"Don'tyoubesosure。Yhtythingtodeceivemeso!"
"Oh,you'llgetoverit,sweetheart,you'llgetoverit;itwasonlyfun,youk'sbegoing。"
"Butwait,wait!Thesituation,youknow。Iwahesituation,"saidmyman。
"Well,"Isaid,"I'mjustasgratefulasIbe,butreallyIdon'twa;
"Butyouhavetheveryygift。"
"Thanksagain,withallmyheart;butIdon'tevenwantthato;
"Henry,I'mashamedofyou。Youdon'thalfthankthegoodgentleman。MayIdoitforyou?""Indeed,youshall,dear,ifyouimproveit。Letusseeyoutry。"
&omyman,gotupinhislap,putherarmroundhisnedkissedhimrightohewooldgeedwithlaughter,butIwasdumfoupetrified,asyoumaysay。Portiasaid:
"Papa,hehassaidyouhaven'tasituatiiftthathe'dtake;aashurtas-"&qu,isthatyourpapa?"
"Yes,he'smystep-papa,aoeverwas。Youuandnoos;tyou,whyIwasabletolaughwhenyoutoldmeattheminister's,notknowiionships,whattroubleandos;sandUncleAbel'sschemewasgivingyou?"
Ofcourse,Isphtupnow,withoutanyfooliraighttothepoint。
"Oh,mydearestdearsir,IwanttotakebackwhatIsaid。YouhavegotasituatioIwant。"
";
"Son-in-law。""ell!Butyouknow,ifyouhaven'teverservedinthatcapacity,you,of'tfurionsofasorttosatisfythesofthetradso-"
"Tryme-oh,do,Ibegofyou!Onlyjusttrymethirtyorfortyyears,andif-"
Happy,wetwo?Therearenhintheuodescribeit。AndwhenLondongotthewholehistory,adayortwolater,ofmymonth'sadvehatbank-note,andhowtheyended,didLondontalk,aime?Yes。
MyPortia'spapatookthatfriendlyandhospitablebillbacktotheBankofEnglandahentheBaandmadehimapresentofit,aousat,andithasalwayshungihesacredestplaeeversigavememyPortia。ButforitIothaveremainedinLondon,wouldnothaveappearedattheminister's,nevershouldhavemether。AndsoIalwayssay,"Yes,it'samillion-pounder,asyousee;butitonepuritslife,aheartilyaboutatenthpartofitsvalue。"