"
Edward Cossey had all this while been sitting on an old oak chair, his
eyes fixed upon the ground, and slowly swinging his hat between his
legs. Suddenly he looked up and to the Squire's surprise said quietly:
"I quite agree with you. I don't think that you can say anything too
bad about the behaviour of my people. A Shoreditch Jew could not have
done worse. And look here, Mr. de la Molle, to come to the point and
prevent misunderstanding, I may as well say at once that with your
permission, I am anxious to take up these mortgages myself, for two
reasons; I regard them as a desirable investment even in the present
condition of land, and also I wish to save Cossey and Son from the
discredit of the step which they meditate."
For the second time that morning the Squire looked up with the sharp
and searching gaze he occasionally assumed, and for the second time
his instinct, for he was too heady a man to reason overmuch, came into
play and warned him that in making this offer Edward Cossey had other
motives than those which he had brought forward. He paused to consider
what they might be. Was he anxious to get the estate for himself? Was
he put forward by somebody else? Quest, perhaps; or was it something
to do with Ida? The first alternative seemed the most probable to him.
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