Your brother will tell you
that I am quite an expert at the designing of houses. But, seriously,
if you think it would be an improvement I will see what can be done."
"Not for the world, Mr. Haw. Why, I should be a traitor to the whole
village if I were to encourage such a scheme. The hill is the one thing
which gives Tamfield the slightest individuality. It would be the
height of selfishness to sacrifice it in order to improve the view
from Elmdene."
"It is a little box of a place this, Mr. Haw" said old McIntyre.
"I should think you must feel quite stifled in it after your grand
mansion, of which my son tells me such wonders. But we were
not always accustomed to this sort of thing, Mr. Haw. Humble as I stand
here, there was a time, and not so long ago, when I could write as many
figures on a cheque as any gunmaker in Birmingham. It was--"
"He is a dear discontented old papa," cried Laura, throwing her arm
round him in a caressing manner. He gave a sharp squeak and a grimace
of pain, which he endeavoured to hide by an outbreak of painfully
artificial coughing.
"Shall we go upstairs?" said Robert hurriedly, anxious to divert his
guest's attention from this little domestic incident. "My studio is the
real atelier, for it is right up under the tiles.
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