“I suppose you’ll be sorry now for having told me.”

He lifted his long lashes, that were like a girl’s, and looked at her.  The minutes that had passed had altered his expression.  There was again a sparkle of resolve, perhaps of relief, in his glance.  Without changing his position, he spoke drowsily, and yet reassuringly, like a man with a large and easy grasp of the situation.  She was not sure whether it was a renewal of confidence on his part or a bit of acting.

“No, dear, no.  I wanted to get your point of view.  It’s always interesting to me.  I see your objections—­of course.  I may say that I even shared some of them—­till—­”

She allowed him a minute in which to resume, but, as he kept silence, she ventured to ask: 

“Does that mean that you don’t share them now?”

“I see what there is to be said—­all round.  It isn’t to be expected, dear, that you, as a woman, not used to business—­”

“Oh, but I didn’t understand that this was business.  That’s just the point.  To borrow money might be business—­to borrow it on security, you know, or whatever else is the usual way—­but not to take it as a present.”

He jerked himself up into a forward posture.  When he replied to her, it was with didactic, explanatory irritation.

“When I said that, I was legitimately using language that might be called exaggerated.  Hyperbole is, I believe, the term grammarians use for it.  I didn’t expect you, dear, to take me up so literally.  It isn’t like you.  You generally have more imagination.  As a matter of fact, Davenant’s offer was that of a loan—­”

“Oh!  So it was—­that man?”

“Yes; it was he.  He expressly spoke of it as a loan.  I myself interpreted it as a gift simply to emphasize its extraordinary generosity.  I thought you’d appreciate that.  Do you see?”

“Perfectly, papa; and it’s the extraordinary generosity that seems to me just what makes it impossible.  Why should Mr. Davenant be generous to us?  What does he expect to gain?”

“I had that out with him.  He said he didn’t expect to gain anything.”

“And you believed him?”

“Partly; though I suppose he has something up his sleeve.  It wasn’t my policy to question him too closely about that.  It’s not altogether my first concern.  I need the money.”

“But you don’t need the money—­in that way, papa?”

“I need it in any way.  If Davenant will let me have it—­especially on such terms—­I’ve no choice but to take it.”

“Oh, don’t, papa.  I’m sure it isn’t right.  I—­I don’t like him.”

“Pff!  What’s that got to do with it?  This is business.”

“No, papa.  It’s not business.  It’s a great deal more—­or a great deal less—­I don’t know which.”

“You don’t know anything about it at all, dear.  You may take that from me.  This is a man’s affair.  You really must leave it to me to deal with it.”  Once more he fell back into the depth of his arm-chair and closed his eyes.  “If you don’t mind, I think I should like a little nap.  What have you got so especially against Davenant, anyhow?”