Mr. Rankin; "but they grind exceeding small."

LADY CICELY. Now I suppose if I'd done such a clever thing in
England, you'd have sent me to prison.

SIR HOWARD. Probably, unless you had taken care to keep outside
the law against conspiracy. Whenever you wish to do anything
against the law, Cicely, always consult a good solicitor first.

LADY CICELY. So I do. But suppose your agent takes it into his
head to give the estate back to his wicked old employer!

SIR HOWARD. I heartily wish he would.

RANKIN (openeyed). You wish he WOULD!!

SIR HOWARD. Yes. A few years ago the collapse of the West Indian
sugar industry converted the income of the estate into an annual
loss of about 150 pounds a year. If I can't sell it soon, I shall
simply abandon it--unless you, Mr. Rankin, would like to take it
as a present.

RANKIN (laughing). I thank your lordship: we have estates enough
of that sort in Scotland. You're setting with your back to the
sun, Leddy Ceecily, and losing something worth looking at. See
there. (He rises and points seaward, where the rapid twilight of
the latitude has begun.)

LADY CICELY (getting up to look and uttering a cry of
admiration). Oh, how lovely!