Mr. Fairfax had inherited a lawsuit with a small estate in Durham,
bequeathed to him by a distant connexion, and this suit, after being for
years a blister on his peace, had been finally decided against him. The
estate was lost, and the plague of the suit with it, but there were
large costs to pay and the time was inconvenient.
"Your grandfather contributed heavily to the election of Mr. Cecil
Burleigh in the prospect of an event which it seems is not to be,"
concluded the little lady with reproachful significance. "My Arthur told
me all about it (Mr. Fairfax consults him on everything); and now there
are I don't know how many thousands to pay in the shape of back rents,
interest, and costs, but it is an immense sum."
Bessie was sorry, very sorry, and showed it with so much sense and
sympathy that her grandfather presently revealed his vexations to her
himself, and having once mentioned them, he found her a resource to
complain to again. She hoped that he would get over his defeat the
sooner for talking of it, but he did not. He was utterly convinced that
he had right on his side, and he wanted a new trial, from which Mr. John
Short could hardly dissuade him. The root of his profound annoyance was
that Abbotsmead must be encumbered to pay for the lost suit, unless his
son Frederick, who had ready money accumulated from the unspent fortune
of his wife, would come to the rescue. In answer to his father's appeal
Frederick wrote back that a certain considerable sum which he mentioned
was at his service, but as for the bulk of his wife's fortune, he
intended it to revert to her family.
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