Before they came down, Mary had accepted a position in
Mrs. Redmain's house, if that may be called a position which was
so undefined; and Hesper had promised that she would not mention
the matter. For Mary judged Mr. Turnbull would be too glad to get
rid of her to mind how brief the notice she gave him, and she
would rather not undergo the remarks that were sure to be made in
contempt of her scheme. She counted it only fair, however, to let
him know that she intended giving up her place behind the
counter, hinting that, as she meant to leave when it suited her
without further warning, it would be well to look out at once for
one to take her place.
As to her money in the business, she scarcely thought of it, and
said nothing about it, believing it as safe as in the bank. It
was in the power of a dishonest man who prided himself on his
honesty--the worst kind of rogue in the creation; but she had not
yet learned to think of him as a dishonest man--only as a greedy
one--and the money had been there ever since she had heard of
money. Mr. Turnbull was so astonished by her communication that,
not seeing at once how the change was likely to affect him, he
held his peace--with the cunning pretense that his silence arose
from anger. His first feeling was of pleasure, but the man of
business must take care how he shows himself pleased. On
reflection, he continued pleased; for, as they did not seem
likely to succeed in securing Mary in the way they had wished,
the next best thing certainly would be to get rid of her.
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