On his way to Bridport, the man also reflected, but of the future, not the past.

“I must be cruel to be kind,” he told himself.  What he exactly meant by the assurance, he hardly knew.  But, in some way, it assisted self-respect and promised a course of action likely to justify his coming life.

CHAPTER XIX

JOB LEGG’S AMBITION

A disquieting and wholly unexpected event now broke into the strenuous days of the mistress of ‘The Seven Stars.’  It followed another, which was now a thing of the past; but Mrs. Northover had scarcely finished being thankful that the old order was restored again, when that occurred to prove the old order could never be restored.

Job Legg had been called away to the deathbed of an aged uncle.  For a fortnight he was absent, and during that time Nelly Northover found herself the victim of a revelation.  She perceived, indeed, startling truths until then hidden from her, and found the absence of Job created undreamed-of complications.  At every turn she missed the man and discovered, very much to her own surprise, that this most unassuming person appeared vital to the success of her famous house.  On every hand she heard the same words; all progress was suspended; nothing could advance until the return of Mr. Legg.  ‘The Seven Stars’ were arrested in their courses while he continued absent.

Thus his temporary disappearance affected the system and proved that around the sun of Job Legg, quite as much as his mistress, the galaxy revolved; but something more than this remained to be discovered by Mrs. Northover herself.  She found that not only had she undervalued his significance and importance in her scheme of things; but that she entertained a personal regard for the man, unsuspected until he was absent.  She missed him at every turn; and when he came back to her, after burying his uncle, Mrs. Northover could have kissed him.

This she did not do; but she was honest; she related the suspension of many great affairs for need of Job; she described to him the dislocation that his departure had occasioned and declared her hearty thankfulness that her right hand had returned to her.

“You was uppermost in my mind a thousand times a day, Job; and when it came to doing the fifty thousand things you do, I began to see what there is to you,” said Nelly Northover.  “And this I’ll say:  you haven’t been getting enough money along with me.”

He was pleased and smiled and thanked her.

“I’ve missed ‘The Stars,’” he said, “and am very glad to be back.”

Then when things were settled down and Mrs. Northover happy and content once more, Mr. Legg cast her into much doubt and uncertainty.  Indeed his attitude so unexpected, awoke a measure of dismay.  Life, that Nelly hoped was becoming static and comfortable again, suddenly grew highly dynamic.  Changes stared her in the face and that was done which nothing could undo.