the
table. Edwin owed them to a marvellous piece of good fortune. He had
feared, and even Maggie had feared, that their father would impair the
practical value and the charm of the new house by parsimony in the
matter of furniture. The furniture in the domestic portion of the old
dwelling was quite inadequate for the new one, and scarcely fit for it
either. Happily Darius had heard of a houseful of furniture for sale at
Oldcastle by private treaty, and in a wild, adventurous hour he had
purchased it, exceedingly cheap. Edwin had been amazed at his luck (he
accepted the windfall as his own private luck) when he first saw the
bought furniture in the new house, before the removal. Out of it he had
selected the table, the carpet, and the rug for his bedroom, and none
had demurred. He noticed that his father listened to him, in affairs of
the new house, as to an individuality whose views demanded some trifle
of respect. Beyond question his father was proving himself to possess a
mind equal to the grand situation. What with the second servant and the
furniture, Edwin felt that he would not have to blush for the house, no
matter who might enter it to spy it out. As for his own room, he would
not object to the Sunday seeing it. Indeed he would rather like the
Sunday to see it, on his next visit. Already it was in nearly complete
order, for he had shown a singular, callous disregard for the progress
of the rest of the house: against which surprising display of
selfishness both Maggie and Mrs Nixon had glumly protested. The truth
was that he was entirely obsessed by his room; it had disabled his
conscience.

When he had oscillated on his heels and toes for a few moments with his
gaze on the table, he faced about, and stared in a sort of vacant
beatitude at the bookshelves to the left hand; those to the right hand
were as yet empty. Twilight was deepening.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIVE.

He heard his father's heavy and clumsy footstep on the landing. The old
man seemed to wander uncertainly a little, and then he pushed open
Edwin's door with a brusque movement and entered the room. The two
exchanged a look. They seldom addressed each other, save for an
immediate practical purpose, and they did not address each other now.
But Darius ejaculated "Um!" as he glanced around. They had no intimacy.
Darius never showed any interest in his son as an independent human