Mary took pity on him.  She had been much interested by his account of the work, and would be delighted if he would read it with her.  He brightened at once, and the regular habit began, greatly to their mutual enjoyment.  Mary liked the argument, Louis liked explaining it; and the flood of allusions was delightful to both, with his richness of illustration, and Mary’s actual experience of ocean and mountains.  She brought him whatever books he wanted, and from the benevolent view of entertaining him while a prisoner, came to be more interested than her mother had ever expected to see her in anything literary.  It was amusing to see the two cousins unconsciously educating each other—­the one learning expansion, the other concentration, of mind.  Mary could now thoroughly trust Louis’s goodness, and therefore began by bearing with his vagaries, and gradually tracing the grain of wisdom that was usually at their root; and her eyes were opened to new worlds, where all was not evil or uninteresting that Aunt Melicent distrusted.  Louis made her teach him Spanish; and his insight into grammar and keen delight in the majestic language and rich literature infected her, while he was amused by her positive distaste to anything incomplete, and playfully, though half murmuringly, submitted to his ’good governess,’ and let her keep him in excellent order.  She knew where all his property was, and, in her quaint, straightforward way, would refuse to give him whatever ‘was not good for him.’

It was all to oblige Mary that, when he could sit up and use pen and pencil, he set to work to finish his cottage plans, and soon drew and talked himself into a vehement condition about Marksedge.  Mary’s patronage drew on the work, even to hasty learning of perspective enough for a pretty elevation intelligible to the unlearned, and a hopeless calculation of the expense.

The plans lay on the table when next his father came home, and their interest was explained.

‘Did you draw all these yourself?’ exclaimed the Earl.  ’Where did you learn architectural drawing?  I should have thought them done by a professional hand.’

‘It is easy enough to get it up from books,’ said Louis; ’and Mary kept me to the point, in case you should be willing to consider the matter.  I would have written out the estimate; but this book allows for bricks, and we could use the stone at Inglewood more cheaply, to say nothing of beauty.’

‘Well,’ said Lord Ormersfield, considering, ’you have every right to have a voice in the management of the property.  I should like to hear your views with regard to these cottages.’