He stopped and frowned and puckered his lips as if reluctant to
continue. Ida looked at him steadily with her deep grey eyes.
"Go on." she said. "Do not be afraid to tell me the truth. I can bear
it. I would rather know the worst, know what I have to face. For some
time past I have feared my father was in trouble. Do you think I am
afraid? Please tell me all."
"In a word, then, my dear," said the old lawyer, with a sigh, "I am
afraid your father has been speculating, and, like ninety-nine out of a
hundred that do so, has been losing. It is like playing against the
bank at Monte Carlo; one man may break it, but the advantage is on the
bank's side, and for the one who wins thousands lose. Can you tell me
if there are any grounds for my apprehension?"
Ida was silent for a moment as she recalled her father's manner of
late, his habit of shutting himself up in the library, of keeping his
letters from her, of secreting papers, and, above all, the furtive
glances which she had now and again seen him cast at her.
"I am afraid that it is only too true," she said. "My poor father! What
is to be done, Mr. Wordley? Can I do anything?"
The old man shook his head. He knew too well that once a man has really
taken to gambling, whether it be on the Stock Exchange, or at a green
table, or on the turf, there is very little hope of saving him.
"I fear you can do nothing," he replied, sadly. "A Heron never yet
brooked interference even by his nearest and dearest. No, you must say
nothing about it. Even I must be careful how I approach him; for this
morning he was testy and irritable and resented the few questions I
ventured to put to him. Don't make yourself unhappy about it. I will
try and arrange about the mortgage, and I will come over again as soon
as possible and try and persuade your father to confide in me as he
used to do. Now, come, remember! You are not to worry yourself, my
dear, but to leave it entirely to me. Things are rarely as bad as they
seem, and there is always a gleam of light in the darkest sky. Perhaps,
some day, we shall see Heron Hall and the good old family in all its
old glory; and when that day comes, my little girl with the star eyes
will queen it in the dale like one of the Heron ladies of the past."