"Aren’t you sorry now, Cousin Fanshaw," said Carolina, mischievously, "that you wouldn’t invest when we wanted you to?"
Judge Lee cleared his throat and reddened slightly. He did not relish being jested with.
"I think I am, Carolina," he said. "God knows I needed the money, but, if you will allow me, under the circumstances of your great triumph, to be ungallant, I will tell you that I did not have any faith in a woman’s head for business."
"Few of us have, I think," said Mr. Howard, coming to his rescue. "At first, I did not, but Carolina was so sure that I began it as an experiment which was likely to cost me dear. I have ended by believing in it with all my heart."
"Of course I have had a great deal of help," said Carolina, generously. "Mr. La Grange is very influential, and I am sure I could not have got the telephone and electric light without him. They were carrying lanterns in Enterprise when we first came down here, and I expected to have to get along with acetylene, which I greatly dislike. But he told me that for the last ten years the subject of electric lighting had been agitated, and that he believed a little new blood and ready money would start the thing. That was easily managed, but the cost of bringing the wires to Guildford was greater than I expected. However, in another year several other estates will need lighting, and I shall carry it for them over my wires, and thus reduce my initial expense materially."
"Who owns the control in the electric company?" asked Judge Lee.
"Why, Carolina does, of course!" said Mr. Howard. "You don’t suppose my little Napoleon of Finance would commit such an error of judgment as not to keep that? Nevertheless, she put up the poles from Enterprise to Guildford at her own expense. She wouldn’t take any unfair advantage of her control."
Judge Lee glanced at his cousin in half-way disapproval. He greatly disliked a woman who understood finance, and he privately considered Carolina unsexed. If she had not been beautiful, he would have said so, but her girlish loveliness saved her.
Judge Lee looked around. On every side familiar objects met his eye. It was the same Guildford of his ancestors, yet enlarged, dignified, engrandeured. His gaze clung affectionately to the heavy, quaint furnishings, so cunningly reproduced that they might well pass as the ancient pieces they represented. He began to realize the enormous amount of hard work this indicated,--of the hours and days of unremitting toil,--of the discouragements overcome,--the obstacles surmounted,--the love this mirrored.