the Lump gets bigger, I shall want a lot of money.
There'll be his clothes, and his schooling. I don't want him to go to
a board school--not in London. Such children go there--Aunt Hannah
said so, and so does Mrs. Brown. But there must be schools where they
wouldn't charge very much."

"Oh--ah--of course, you'll want money for that," said the duke heavily.

Pollyooly gave a little skip as of one removing an unpleasant matter
from her mind, and said cheerfully:

"And anyhow I should have to go on the stage. Ronald and I couldn't
get married if I didn't."

"I keep telling you that he's going to marry Marion," said the duke
very firmly indeed.

His insistence on this fact did not seem to impair Pollyooly's cheerful
serenity, for after a thoughtful pause she skipped again and said:

"Oh, well: if I'm actually on the stage, I expect it would be all
right. There must be other heirs of peers."

The duke looked down on her and said bitterly:

"I'm hanged if _I_ know what the world's coming to!"

CHAPTER XXII

THE DUKE WINS

Pollyooly had been at Ricksborough Court rather more than a month when
the Honourable John Ruffin arrived, uninvited and without notice, on
the Friday evening. He found the duke in the garden with the three
children.

"The kicking has begun," he said to the duke briefly, by way of
explanation.

The duke seemed taken aback by the suddenness of the news, but soon he
recovered and showed himself in very good spirits.

That night after dinner, after Pollyooly and Ronald had been dismissed
from dessert to bed, the Honourable John Ruffin said:

"I got a letter from Caroline, pitching into me like one o'clock for
being a party to a disgraceful plot to rob Marion of her name and
birthright."

"Where is it?" said the duke quickly.

"I didn't bring it with me. The home-truths about me on it were
nothing to the home-truths about you. It would sear your soul to read
them," said the Honourable John Ruffin in a very grave voice.

"Would it?" said the duke.

"It would. But I thought I would come down, in case she made a descent
and you wanted some one to stand by and stiffen you."

"Do you know, I don't think I do," said the duke. "I really believe I
can stick it out on my own."

"Good," said the Honourable John Ruffin.

"All the same I'm glad you came. If we get beyond having a tremendous
row, we shall very likely want some one to arrange things for us," said
the duke.

"I