Baxter in the morning-room, while the
Dean and Sir Winterton walked round and round the lawn in gloomy
conversation punctuated by gloomier silences.
What the actual history was Lady Mildmay's narrative showed pretty
accurately. Sir Winterton's predominant desires, to do the handsome thing
and to meet with pleasant looks, evidently had played a large part. Lady
Mildmay blushed a little and smiled as she began by observing that Sir
Winterton had distinguished the girl by some kind notice; he liked her, he
always liked nice-spoken nice-looking girls; for her sake and her mother's
(a very decent woman), he had forgiven Tom many irregularities. At last
his patience gave out and Tom was prosecuted; when arrested, Tom had tried
blackmail; Sir Winterton was not to be bullied, and Tom's speech from the
dock was no more than an outburst of defeated malice.
Then came on the scene Sir Winterton's kind heart and his predominant
desires. He had made the girl a present to facilitate her marriage and
had got the husband work away from the town, where no gossip would have
reached.
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