'Ah!' said the attorney, scribbling fast, and with distended cheeks.

'I leave the said fund to go with the land.'

'To go with the land,' the lawyer repeated as he wrote the words. 'Fifty

thousand pounds! Prodigious! Prodigious! Might I ask, sir, the date of

your respected grandfather's will?' 'December, 1746,' Sir George answered.

'The term has then nine months to run?' 'Yes.'

'With submission, then it comes to this,' the lawyer answered

thoughtfully, marking off the points with his pen in the air. 'In the

event of--of this will operating--all, or nearly all of your property,

Sir George, goes to your uncle's heirs in tail--if to be found--and

failing issue of his body to my Lord Chatham?' 'Those are my intentions.' 'Precisely, sir,' the lawyer answered, glancing at the clock. 'And they

shall be carried out. But--ahem! Do I understand, sir, that in the event

of a claimant making good his claim before the expiration of the nine

months, you stand to lose this stupendous, this magnificent sum--even in

your lifetime?' 'I do,' Sir George answered grimly. 'But there will be enough left to

pay your bill.' Peter stretched out his hands in protest, then, feeling that this was

unprofessional, he seized the pen. 'Will you please to honour me with

the names of the executors, sir?' he said.

'Dr. Addington, of Harley Street.' 'Yes, sir.' 'And Mr. Dagge, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, attorney-at-law.'

'It is an honour to be in any way associated with him,' the lawyer

muttered, as he wrote the name with a flourish. 'His lordship's man of

business, I believe. And now you may have your mind at ease, sir,' he

continued. 'I will put this into form before I sleep, and will wait on

you for your signature--shall I say at--'

'At a quarter before eight,' said Soane. 'You will be private?' 'Of course, sir. It is my business to be private. I wish you a very good

night.' The attorney longed to refer to the coming meeting, and to his sincere

hope that his new patron would leave the ground unscathed. But a duel

was so alien from the lawyer's walk in life, that he knew nothing of the

punctilios, and he felt a delicacy. Tamely to wish a man a safe issue

seemed to be a common compliment incommensurate with the occasion; and a

bathos. So, after a moment of hesitation, he gathered up his papers, and

tip-toed out of the room with an absurd exaggeration of respect, and a

heart bounding jubilant under his flapped waistcoat.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024