"
"Yes, but it has been going on. Affidavits have been made; the whole
affair is in progress."
"I am glad to hear it. Don't think that I pretend not to value the
prospect of wealth; I have only learnt to know that money is not the
be-all and end-all of life. I could be very happy with my dear wife if
there were no prospect of this Haygarthian inheritance; but if it does
come to us, we shall, no doubt, be all the happier. The millionaire sees
the world from a very pleasant point of view. I should like my dear girl
to be the mistress of as fair a home as money can buy for her."
"Yes, and you'd like to have your name stand high in the statistics of
Government stockholders. Don't be sentimental, Hawkehurst; that kind of
thing won't wash. Thank God, we managed to save poor Tom's daughter from
the fangs of my brother Phil. But you can't suppose that I am going to
shut my eyes to the fact that this affair has been a very good thing for
you, and that you owe your chances of a great fortune entirely to me? You
don't pretend to forget _that_, I suppose?" said George Sheldon, with
some acrimony.
"Why should I pretend to forget that, or any circumstance of our business
relations? I am perfectly aware that you started the hunt of the
Haygarths, and that to your investigations is to be traced the discovery
that proves my wife a claimant to the estate now held by the Crown.
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