This was all the dowry that Sheila carried with her to the South.  Mackenzie would willingly have given her half his money, if she would have taken it or if her husband had desired it; but the old King of Borva had profound and far-reaching schemes in his head about the small fortune he might otherwise have accorded to his daughter.  This wealth, such as it was, was to be a magnet to draw this young English gentleman back to the Hebrides.  It was all very well for Mr. Lavender to have plenty of money at present:  he might not always have it.  Then the time would come for Mackenzie to say, “Look here, young man:  I can support myself easily and comfortably by my farming and fishing.  The money I have saved is at your disposal so long as you consent to remain in Lewis—­in Stornoway if you please, elsewhere if you please—­only in Lewis.  And while you are painting pictures, and making as much money as you can that way, you can have plenty of fishing and shooting and amusement; and my guns and boats and rods are all at your service.”  Mr. Mackenzie considered that no man could resist such an offer.

Sheila, of course, told her husband of the sum of money she owned, and for a longtime it was a standing joke between them.  He addressed her with much respect, and was careful to inform her of the fluctuations of the moneymarket.  Sometimes he borrowed a sovereign of her, and never without giving her an I O U, which was faithfully reclaimed.  But by and by she perceived that he grew less and less to like the mention of this money.  Perhaps it resembled too closely the savings which the overcautious folks about Borvabost would not entrust to a bank, but kept hid about their huts in the heel of a stocking.  At all events, Sheila saw that her husband did not like her to go to this fund for her charities; and so the fifty pounds that her father had given her lasted a long time.  During this period of jubilation, in which she looked forward to touching her husband’s heart by an innocent little stratagem, more frequent appeals were made to the drawer in which the treasure was locked up, so that in the end her private dowry was reduced to thirty pounds.

If Ingram could have but taken part in this plan of hers!  The only regret that was mingled with her anticipations of a happier future concerned this faithful friend of hers, who seemed to have been cut off from them for ever.  And it soon became apparent to her that her husband, so far from inclining to forget the misunderstanding that had arisen between Ingram and himself, seemed to feel increased resentment, insomuch that she was most careful to avoid mentioning his name.

She was soon to meet him, however.  Lavender was resolved that he would not appear to have retired from the field merely because Ingram had entered it.  He would go to this dinner on the Tuesday evening, and Sheila would accompany him.  First, he asked her.  Much as she would have preferred not visiting these particular people, she cheerfully acquiesced:  she was not going to be churlish or inconsiderate on the very eve of her dramatic coup.  Then he went to Mrs. Lorraine and said he had persuaded Sheila to come with him; and the young American lady and her mamma were good enough to say how glad they were she had come to this decision.  They appeared to take it for granted that it was Sheila alone who had declined former invitations.