书城公版LITTLE NOVELS
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第741章 MISS DULANE AND MY LORD.(9)

"I suppose you have made the necessary arrangements," he said.

"When the old lady releases you, she will leave consolation behind her in her will.""That's the first ill-natured thing I ever heard you say, Dick.

When the old lady dies, my sense of honor takes fright, and turns its back on her will. It's a condition on my side, that every farthing of her money shall be left to her relations.""Don't you call yourself one of them?"

"What a question! Am I her relation because the laws of society force a mock marriage on us? How can I make use of her money unless I am her husband? and how can she make use of my title unless she is my wife? As long as she lives I stand honestly by my side of the bargain. But when she dies the transaction is at an end, and the surviving partner returns to his five hundred a year."Dick exhibited another surprising side to his character. The most compliant of men now became as obstinate as the proverbial mule.