MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 33 



odd thing to say of one's own brother that you have the 

 advantage of me, Mr. Morgan, but so it is, and the curious 

 part of the whole business is there was no earthly reason but 

 family obstinacy for the existence of the state of things ; we 

 differed, and then in time we thought we had quarrelled, and 

 neither one nor the other would hold out the olive branch. 

 I've been urged to do it over and over again " (with an up- 

 ward look at the portrait), " and Lavvy has said the same 

 thing, but you see I'm the younger and the poorer, and it 

 would look so deuced like wanting to curry favour, wouldn't 

 it ? Not that I want anything ; but Hugo wouldn't know 



that, and " he broke off, looked at Jack and drummed on 



the table with his fingers. 



*' What would you think, sir, if places were changed ? " 

 Jack asked, encouraged by a grateful look from the girl at 

 the head of the table. 



"I? I'd shake him by both hands," was the reply. 



"And I'm much mistaken if the Squire of Cranston 

 wouldn't do just the same," Jack said. " I know him as well 

 as most people, am his nearest neighbour, and dine with him 

 on the average three days a fortnight." 



" But how about Lavinia ? I see in the papers she's 

 great on encouraging the ' discontentment of women ' or 

 some such thing — clothes, social status. We've got a female 

 guardian here full of fads and impossible methods of deal- 

 ing with public money ; we are always an hour longer at a 

 Board meeting than we used to be. If any one differs from 

 her she writes letters demanding apologies, and it takes the 

 chairman all his time to keep her on the line. We shall 

 never break her from riot till we couple her up to a gate-post 

 and dress her down." 



''Dad!" 



" My dear, it's perfectly true, until she is coupled up in 

 holy matrimony she'll never be to be depended on ; and I 

 daresay your aunt is just the same." 



** You haven't let Mr. Morgan tell you ; he has told me." 



The Squire looked at Jack, and Jack tried to recollect what 



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