England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
But there was a codicil to the will, dated since Lord Ludlow’s
death--feebly written by Mr. Horner himself, as if in preparation only
for some more formal manner of bequest; or, perhaps, only as a mere
temporary arrangement till he could see a lawyer, and have a fresh will
made. In this he revoked his previous bequest to Harry Gregson. He only
left two hundred pounds to Mr. Gray to be used, as that gentleman
thought best, for Henry Gregson’s benefit. With this one exception, he
bequeathed all the rest of his savings to my lady, with a hope that they
might form a nest-egg, as it were, towards the paying off of the
mortgage which had been such a grief to him during his life. I may not
repeat all this in lawyer’s phrase; I heard it through Miss Galindo, and
she might make mistakes. Though, indeed, she was very clear-headed, and
soon earned the respect of Mr. Smithson, my lady’s lawyer from Warwick.
Mr. Smithson knew Miss Galindo a little before, both personally and by
reputation; but I don’t think he was prepared to find her installed as
steward’s clerk, and, at first, he was inclined to treat her, in this
capacity, with polite contempt. But Miss Galindo was both a lady and a
spirited, sensible woman, and she could put aside her self-indulgence in
eccentricity of speech and manner whenever she chose. Nay more; she was
usually so talkative, that if she had not been amusing and
warm-hearted, one might have thought her wearisome occasionally. But, to
meet Mr. Smithson, she came out daily in her Sunday gown; she said no
more than was required in answer to his questions; her books and papers
were in thorough order, and methodically kept; her statements of
matters-of-fact accurate, and to be relied on. She was amusingly
conscious of her victory over his contempt of a woman-clerk and his
preconceived opinion of her unpractical eccentricity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account