There would be no carriage and no man
servant till,--till old Mr. Maule was dead. The suggestion as to
the ultimate and desirable haven was wrapped up in ambiguous words.
"The property must be yours some day," suggested Lady Chiltern.
"If I outlive my father." "We take that for granted; and then, you
know--" So Lady Chiltern went on, dilating upon a future state of
squirearchal bliss and rural independence. Adelaide was enthusiastic;
but Gerard Maule,--after he had assented to the abandonment of his
hunting, much as a man assents to being hung when the antecedents of
his life have put any option in the matter out of his power,--had
sat silent and almost moody while the joys of his coming life were
described to him. Lady Chiltern, however, had been urgent in pointing
out to him that the scheme of living at Maule Abbey could not be
carried on without his father's assistance. They all knew that Mr.
Maule himself could not be affected by the matter, and they also
knew that he had but very little power in reference to the property.
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