"
"Oh, Miss Egerton! oh, poor, poor thing! I will gladly give her fifty
pounds for them."
Miss Egerton coughed, and colored slightly.
"The fact is," she said, "I do not think she ought to sell them; they
are mementoes, and belonged to her mother. Mrs. Ellsworthy, I won't
deceive you any longer. This lace is now the property of Jasmine
Mainwaring. She took it to a pawnshop last night, and but for me would
have absolutely given it away; I was just in time to redeem it. Now
the fact is, I happen to know that Primrose does not wish this lace to
be sold; I offered, long ago, to find a purchaser for it, but she
looked terribly distressed at the idea. What I should like to do would
be this; in short, in short--I do not quite know how to put it--"
"I know, I know," said Mrs. Ellsworthy, clapping her hands, "you want
me to be a pawnbroker, and to lend money on it. I will, I will, with
pleasure; oh, this is quite a fresh and delightful idea."
"Give me ten pounds to help the poor child over her present
difficulties," said Miss Egerton, tears in her eyes. "Yes, ten pounds
is quite enough. I will not take a penny more."
"Now, Mrs. Ellsworthy, as we have comfortably disposed of this little
matter, I want to talk to you most seriously about the girls.
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