"
Mr. Balderby bowed, but his eyebrows went up a little, as if he found it
impossible to control some slight evidence of his surprise.
"Previous to my daughter's marriage I settled upon her the house in
Portland Place and the Yorkshire property. She will have all my money
when I die; and, as Sir Philip Jocelyn is a rich man, she will perhaps
be one of the wealthiest women in England. So far so good. Neither Laura
nor her husband will have any reason for dissatisfaction. But this is
not quite enough, Mr. Balderby. I am not a demonstrative man, and I have
never made any great fuss about my love for my daughter; but I do love
her, nevertheless."
Mr. Dunbar spoke very slowly here, and stopped once or twice to pass his
handkerchief across his forehead, as he had done in the hotel at
Winchester.
"We Anglo-Indians have rather a magnificent way of doing things, Mr.
Balderby" he continued, "when we take it into our heads to do them at
all. I want to give my daughter a diamond-necklace as a wedding present,
and I want it to be such as an Eastern prince or a Rothschild might
offer to his only child. You understand?"
"Oh, perfectly," answered Mr. Balderby; "I shall be most happy to be of
any use to you in the matter."
"All I want is a large sum of money at my command.
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