“Well, well; it does not matter. It is usual among the profession; but it does not in the least signify. Mr. Mason has written to us, and he says that you have found out something about that Orley Farm business.”
“Yes; I have found out something. At least, I rather think so.”
“Well, what is, it, Mr. Dockwrath?”
“Ah! that’s the question. It’s rather a ticklish business, Mr. Round; a family affair, as I may say.”
“Whose family?”
“To a certain extent my family, and to a certain extent Mr. Mason’s family. I don’t know how far I should be justified in laying all the facts before you—wonderful facts they are too—in an offhand way like that. These matters have to be considered a great deal. It is not only the extent of the property. There is much more than that in it, Mr. Round.”
“If you don’t tell me what there is in it, I don’t see what we are to do. I am sure you did not give yourself the trouble of coming up here from Hamworth merely with the object of telling us that you are going to hold your tongue.”
“Certainly not, Mr. Round.”
“Then what did you come to say?”
“May I ask you, Mr. Round, what Mr. Mason has told you with reference to my interview with him?”
“Yes; I will read you a part of his letter—‘Mr. Dockwrath is of opinion that the will under which the estate is now enjoyed is absolutely a forgery.’ I presume you mean the codicil, Mr. Dockwrath?”
“Oh yes! the codicil of course.”
“ ‘And he has in his possession documents which I have not seen, but which seem to me, as described, to go far to prove that this certainly must have been the case.’ And then he goes on with a description of dates, although it is clear that he does not understand the matter himself—indeed he says as much. Now of course we must see these documents before we can give our client any advice.” A certain small portion of Mr. Mason’s letter Mr. Round did then read, but he did not read those portions in which Mr. Mason expressed his firm determination to reopen the case against Lady Mason, and even to prosecute her for forgery if it were found that he had anything like a fair chance of success in doing so. “I know that you were convinced,” he had said, addressing himself personally to Mr. Round senior, “that Lady Mason was acting in good faith. I was always convinced of the contrary, and am more sure of it now than ever.” This last paragraph, Mr. Round junior had not thought it necessary to read to Mr. Dockwrath.
“The documents to which I allude are in reference to my confidential family matters; and I certainly shall not produce them without knowing on what ground I am standing.”
“Of course you are aware, Mr. Dockwrath, that we could compel you.”
“There, Mr. Round, I must be allowed to differ.”
“It won’t come to that, of course. If you have anything worth showing, you’ll show it; and if we make use of you as a witness, it must be as a willing witness.”
“I don’t think it probable that I shall be a witness in the matter at all.”
“Ah, well; perhaps not. My own impression is that no case will be made out; that there will be nothing to take before a jury.”
“There again, I must differ from you, Mr. Round.”
“Oh, of course! I suppose the real fact is, that it is a matter of money. You want to be paid for what information you have got. That is about the long and the short of it; eh, Mr. Dockwrath?”
“I don’t know what you call the long and the short of it, Mr. Round; or what may be your way of doing business. As a professional man, of course I expect to be paid for my work;—and I have no doubt that you expect the same.”
“No doubt, Mr. Dockwrath; but—as you have made the comparison, I hope you will excuse me for saying so—we always wait till our clients come to us.”
Mr. Dockwrath drew himself up with some intention of becoming angry; but he hardly knew how to carry it out; and then it might be a question whether anger would serve his turn. “Do you mean to say, Mr. Round, if you had found documents such as these, you would have done nothing about them—that you would have passed them by as worthless?”
“I can’t say that till I know what the documents are. If I found papers concerning the client of another firm, I should go to that firm if I thought that they demanded attention.”
“I didn’t know anything about the firm;—how was I to know?”
“Well! you know now, Mr. Dockwrath. As I understand it, our client has referred you to us. If you have anything to say, we are ready to hear it. If you have anything to show, we are ready to look at it. If you have nothing to say, and nothing to show—”
“Ah, but I have; only—”
“Only you want us to make it worth your while. We might as well have the truth at once. Is not that about it?”
“I want to see my way, of course.”
“Exactly. And now, Mr. Dockwrath, I must make you understand that we don’t do business in that way.”
“Then I shall see Mr. Mason again myself.”
“That you can do. He will be in town next week, and, as I believe, wishes to see you. As regards your expenses, if you can show us that you have any communication to make that is worth our client’s attention, we will see that you are paid what you are out of pocket, and some fair remuneration for the time you may have lost;—not as an attorney, remember, for in that light we cannot regard you.”
“I am every bit as
