Except of course that it gave me the
opportunity of listening to what you said; to all your sweet words. To
your more than sweet proposal!' 'Yes! It must have been sweet to have any one, who was in a position to
do so, offer to help you when you knew that you were overwhelmed with
debts!' The words were brutal. Stephen felt so; but she had no
alternative. Leonard had some of the hard side of human nature; but he
had also some of the weak side. He went on blindly:

'I have been thinking ever since of what you said, and I want to tell you
that I would like to do as you wish!' As he spoke, his words seemed even
to him to be out of place. He felt it would be necessary to throw more
fervour into the proceedings. The sudden outburst which followed
actually amused Stephen, even in her state of fear:

'Oh, Stephen, don't you know that I love you! You are so beautiful! I
love you! I love you! Won't you be my wife?' This was getting too much to close quarters. Stephen said in a calm,
business-like way:

'My dear Leonard, one thing at a time! I came out here, you know, to
speak of your debts; and until that is done, I really won't go into any
other matter. Of course if you'd rather not . . . ' Leonard really
could not afford this; matters were too pressing with him. So he tried
to affect a cheery manner; but in his heart was a black resolve that she
should yet pay for this. 'All right! Stephen. Whatever you wish I will do; you are the queen of
my heart, you know!' 'How much is the total amount?' said Stephen. This was a change to the prosaic which made sentiment impossible. He
gave over, for the time. 'Go on!' said Stephen, following up her advantage. 'Don't you even know
how much you owe?' 'The fact is, I don't. Not exactly. I shall make up the amount as well
as I can and let you know. But that's not what I came about to-day.' Stephen was going to make an angry gesture of dissent. She was not going
to have that matter opened up. She waited, however, for Leonard was
going on after his momentary pause. She breathed more freely after his
first sentence. He was unable evidently to carry on a double train of
thought. 'It was about that infernal money-lenders' letter that the Governor got!' Stephen got still less anxious. This open acknowledgment of his true
purpose seemed to clear the air. 'What is the amount?' Leonard looked quickly at her; the relief of her
mind made her tone seem joyful. 'A monkey! Five hundred pounds, you know. But then there's three
hundred for interest that has to be paid also. It's an awful lot of
money, isn't it?' The last phrase was added on seeing Stephen's
surprised look. 'Yes!' she answered quietly. 'A great deal of money--to waste!' They
were both silent for a while. Then she said:

'What does your father say to it?' 'He was in an awful wax. One of these beastly duns had written to him
about another account and he was in a regular fury. When I told him I
would pay it within a week, he said very little, which was suspicious;
and then, just when I was going out, he sprung this on me. Mean of him! wasn't it? I need expect no help from him.' As he was speaking he took
a mass of letters from his pocket and began to look among them for the
money-lenders' letter. 'Why, what a correspondence you have there. Do you keep all your letters
in your pockets?' said Stephen quietly. 'All I don't tear up or burn. It wouldn't do to let the Governor into my
secrets. He might know too much!' 'And are all those letters from duns?' 'Mostly, but I only keep those letters I have to attend to and those I
care for.' 'Show me the bundle!' she said. Then seeing him hesitate, added:

'You know if I am to help you to get clear you must take me into your
confidence. I dare say I shall have to see a lot more letters than these
before you are quite clear!' Her tone was too quiet. Knowing already
the silent antagonism between them he began to suspect her; knowing also
that her own letter was not amongst them, he used his wits and handed
them over without a word. She, too, suspected him. After his tacit
refusal to give her the letter, she almost took it for granted that it
was not amongst them. She gave no evidence of her feeling, however, but
opened and read the letters in due sequence; all save two, which, being
in a female hand, she gave back without a word. There was a calmness and
an utter absence of concern, much less of jealousy, about this which
disconcerted him. Throughout her reading Stephen's face showed surprise
now and again; but when she came to the last, which was that of the
usurers, it showed alarm. Being a woman, a legal threat had certain
fears of its own. 'There must be no delay about this!' she said. 'What am I to do?' he answered, a weight off his mind that the fiscal
matter had been practically entered on. 'I shall see that you get the money!' she said quietly. 'It will be
really a gift, but I prefer it to be as a loan for many reasons.' Leonard
made no comment. He found so many reasons in his own mind that he
thought it wise to forbear from asking any of hers. Then she took the
practical matter in hand:

'You must wire to these people at once to say that you will pay the
amount on the day after to-morrow. If you will come here to-morrow at
four o'clock the money will be ready for you. You can go up to town by
the evening train and pay off the debt first thing in the morning. When
you bring the receipt I shall speak to you about the other debts; but you
must make out a full list of them. We can't have any half-measure. I
will not go into the matter till I have all the details before me!' Then
she stood up to go. As they walked across the lawn, she said:

'By the way, don't forget to bring that letter with you. I want to see
what I really did say in it!' Her tone was quiet enough, and the wording
was a request; but Leonard knew as well as if it had been spoken outright
as a threat that if he did not have the letter with him when he came
things were likely to be unpleasant. The farther he got from Normanstand on his way home the more discontented
Leonard grew. Whilst he had been in Stephen's presence she had so
dominated him, not only by her personality but by her use of her
knowledge of his own circumstances, that he had not dared to make protest
or opposition; but now he began to feel how much less he was to receive
than he had expected. He had come prepared to allow Stephen to fall into
his arms, fortune and all. But now, although he had practical assurance
that the weight of his debts would be taken from him, he was going away
with his tail between his legs. He had not even been accepted as a
suitor, he who had himself been wooed only a day before. His proposal of
marriage had not been accepted, had not even been considered by the woman
who had so lately broken ironclad convention to propose marriage to him. He had been treated merely as a scapegrace debtor who had come to ask
favours from an old friend.