on. He had been a
fine type of the wealthy merchant, far-sighted in business affairs and
proud to serve his native city in every way open to him. His son,
Robert, now reigned in his stead, but the firm had been made into a
company, and the responsibility that he undertook, notwithstanding that
the greater number of shares were in his hands, was much less. The
partner who had been taken into the house on Sir Alfred Kelsey's death
now managed the more important part of the business in Manchester, while
Robert, brought up by his father to be a man of affairs, had taken
charge of the London branch. Commerce was in his blood, and he settled
down to work with praiseworthy energy. He had considerable shrewdness,
and it was plain that he would eventually become as good a merchant as
his father. He was little older than Lucy, but his fair hair and his
clean-shaven face gave him a more youthful look. With his spruce air and
well-made clothes, his conversation about hunting and golf, few would
have imagined that he arrived regularly at his office at ten in the
morning, and was as keen to make a good bargain as any of the men he
came in contact with.

Lucy, though very fond of him, was mildly scornful of his Philistine
outlook. He cared nothing for books, and the only form of art that
appealed to him was the musical comedy. She treated him as a rule with
pleasant banter and refused to take him seriously. It required a good
deal of energy to keep their friendship on a light footing, for she knew
that he had been in love with her since he was eighteen. She could not
help feeling flattered, though on her side there was no more than the
cousinly affection due to their having been thrown together all their
lives, and she was aware that they were little suited to one another. He
had proposed to her a dozen times, and she was obliged to use many
devices to protect herself from his assiduity. It availed nothing to
tell him that she did not love him. He was only too willing to marry her
on whatever conditions she chose to make. Her friends and her relations
were anxious that she should accept him. Lady Kelsey had reasoned with
her. Here was a man whom she had known always and could trust utterly;
he had ten thousand a year, an honest heart, and a kindly disposition.
Her father, seeing in the match a resource in his constant difficulties,
was eager that she should take the boy, and George, who was devoted to
him, had put in his word, too. Bo