"It's possible to carry it too far. Then it looks like shilly-shallying," said Mrs. Jepps. "She does carry it too far," Chat hastened to admit candidly. "Much too far. Why, between ourselves, I tell her so every day." (Oh, oh, Chat, as if you dared!) "I try to use some of my old authority." Chat smiled playfully over this. "Well," said Mrs. Jepps, rising to go, "I suppose the poor man's got to put up with anything from sixty thousand a year!" In that remark Mrs. Jepps, shrewdly unconvinced by Chat's convincing precedent, hit off the growing feeling of the neighborhood--the feeling of whose growth Fillingford had begun to be afraid. He believed that all communication with Octon had been broken off; he had never considered Octon as a rival. He saw no ostensible reason for Jenny's hesitation; he was either sure that she would say yes if forced to an answer, or he made up his mind at last to take the risk. He came over to Breysgate Priory with a formal offer and the demand for a formal answer. Needless to say, he did not confide this fact to me, but I had information really as good as first-hand. On the day in question I was sitting reading in my own house after lunch when, with a perfunctory knock, young Lacey put his head in at the door. "Got any tobacco and a drink, Mr. Austin? We've walked over. I've dropped the governor up the hill." I welcomed him, provided him with what he wanted, and sat him down by the fire; it was late autumn now and chilly. He was looking amused in a reflective sort of way. "I say, I suppose you're pretty well in the know up there, aren't you?" He nodded in the direction of the Priory. "Not much danger of the governor slipping up, is there? Oh, you know what I mean! There's no reason you and I shouldn't talk about it." "Perhaps I do, Lord Lacey. Your father's at the Priory now?" "I've just left him there. It's a bit odd to do bottleholder for one's governor on these occasions. It'd seem more natural the other way, wouldn't it?" "Depends a bit on the relative ages, doesn't it?" "Yes, of course, that's it. The governor's getting on, though." He looked across at me. "He's a gentleman, though. The way he told Aunt Sarah and me about it was good--quite good. He said his mind had been made up for some time, but he couldn't formally take such a step without discovering the feelings of the--well, he called us something pleasant--the people who'd lived with him and done so much for his happiness for so many years, ever since mother--'your dear mother,' he said--died. So he told us what he was going to do, and asked our good wishes. Rather straight of him, don't you think?" "I should always expect the straight thing of him," I said.