“And to you, sir, also, good-night!” the professor added, taking Tavernake’s hand and holding it for a minute in his, while he looked impressively in his face.  “I will not say too much, but I will say this:  so much as I have seen of you, I like.  Good-night!”

He turned and strode away.  Both Beatrice and Tavernake watched him until he disappeared.  Then, with a sigh, she picked up her skirts with her right hand, and took Tavernake’s arm.

“Do you mind walking home?” she asked.  “My head aches.”

Tavernake looked for a moment wistfully across the road toward the Milan Court.  Beatrice’s hand, however, only held his arm the tighter.

“I am going to make you come with me every step of the way,” she declared, “so you can just as well make the best of it.  Afterwards—­”

“What about afterwards?” he interrupted.

“Afterwards,” she continued, with decision, “you are to go straight home!”

CHAPTER XXI

SOME EXCELLENT ADVICE

Tavernake, in response to a somewhat urgent message, walked into his solicitor’s office almost as soon as they opened on the following morning.  The junior partner of the firm, who took an interest in him, and was anxious, indeed, to invest a small amount in the Marston Rise Building Company, received him cordially but with some concern.

“Look here, Tavernake,” he said, “I thought I’d better write a line and ask you to come down.  You haven’t forgotten, have you, that our option of purchase lasts only three days longer?”

Tavernake nodded.

“Well, what of it?” he asked.

“It’s just as well that you should understand the situation,” the lawyer continued.  “Your old people are hard upon our heels in this matter, and there will be no chance of any extension—­not even for an hour.  Mr. Dowling has already put in an offer a thousand pounds better than yours; I heard that incidentally yesterday afternoon; so you may be sure that the second your option has legally expired, the thing will be off altogether so far as you’re concerned.”

“That’s all very well,” Tavernake remarked, “but what about the plots that already belong to me?”

“They have some sort of scheme for leaving those high and dry,” the solicitor explained.  “You see, the drainage and lighting will be largely influenced by the purchaser of the whole estate.  If Dowling gets it, he means to treat your plots so that they will become practically valueless.  It’s rather a mean sort of thing, but then he’s a mean little man.”

Tavernake nodded.

“Well,” he announced, “I was coming to see you, anyhow, this morning, to talk to you about the money.”

“Your friend isn’t backing out?” the lawyer asked, quickly.

“My friend has not said anything about backing out yet,” Tavernake replied, “but circumstances have arisen during the last few days which have altered my own views as to the expediency of business relations with this person.  I haven’t any reason to suppose that the money won’t be forthcoming, but if I could get it from any other source, I should prefer it.”