imited money--nor to run my
estates as a Socialist concern. But I gather you are as good a
Conservative as myself."

Faversham was silent a moment, observing the man before him. The whole
thing was too astounding. At last he said: "You are not prepared, sir,
you say, to spend unlimited money. But the sum you offer me is unheard
of."

"For an agent, yes--for a secretary, yes--for a combination of the two,
under the peculiar circumstances, the market offers no precedents. You
and I make a market--and a price."

"You would expect me to live in this house?"

"I gather these rooms are not disagreeable to you?"

"Disagreeable! They are too sumptuous. If _I_ did this thing, sir, I
should want to do it in a businesslike way."

"You want an office? Take your choice." Melrose's gesture indicated the
rest of the house. "There are rooms enough. But you will want some place,
I imagine, where you can be at home, receive friends--like the young lady
and her mother yesterday--and so on."

His smile made him more Ogreish than before.

He resumed:

"And by the way, if you accepted my proposal, I should naturally expect
that for a time you would devote yourself wholly to the organization of
the collections, inside the house, and to the work of the estate, outside
it. But you are of an age when a man hopes to marry. I should of course
take that into account. In a year or two--"

"Oh, I have no immediate ideas of that kind," said Faversham, hastily.

There was a pause. At the end of it Faversham turned on his companion. A
streak of feverish colour, a sparkling vivacity in the eyes, showed the
effect produced by the conversation. But he had kept his head throughout
the whole interview, and a certain unexpected strength in his personality
had revealed itself to Melrose:

"You will hardly expect me, sir, to give an immediate answer to these
proposals?"

"Take your time--take your time--in moderation," said Melrose, drumming
on the table before him.

"And there are of course a few things that I on my side should wish to
know."

A series of inquiries followed: as to the term of the proposed
engagement; the degree of freedom that would be granted him; the date at
which his duties would begin, supposing he undertook them--("To-morrow,
if it pleases you!" said Melrose, jovially)--passing on to the general
circumstances of the estates, and the nature of the pending litigations.
The questions were put with considerable tact, but w