The Romantic Adventures of Mr. Darby and of Sarah His Wife by Martin Armstrong

£40,000 per annum.
    â€˜â€œThe actual winding up of his estate will not take a very great amount of time as he kept very large sums of money in the Bank or in readily negotiable securities, and the payment off of the legacies and of the duties upon the estate can easily be managed from these sources without the sale of any of his more important properties; in fact, by the time you get our letter we shall probably be nearly in a position to hand over to you his residuary estate.
    â€˜â€œThere are, of course, certain formalities we shall require you to observe.
    â€˜â€œHe describes you in his Will as ‘my nephew William James Darby son of my late Brother Horace Anthony Darby of Newchester-on-Dole,’ and in proof of your title we shall require from you an Affidavit by some responsible person in your Town, your Bank Manager for preference, setting forth the fact that you are the Son of the said Horace Anthony Darby, together with a certificate of birth which, no doubt, you can obtain from Somerset House, London in proof of this; also a specimen copy of your signature verified by the person making the Affidavit. We suggest you should go to your Solicitor in Newchester, who will prepare the Affidavit for you in the appropriate form. The Affidavit, with exhibits, should be sworn by you before a Notary Public and despatched to us asquickly as possible. No doubt there will be a Notary in your City.
    â€˜â€œWe are, of course, entirely unaware of your circumstances, but we would suggest that, if by any means you can so manage, you should come out to Australia in the near future, for whilst it is perfectly true that we can vest your Uncle’s property in you, you will, no doubt, like to decide for yourself what shall be done with it.’
    â€œWhilst none of your Uncle’s property could really be described as speculative yet the greater portion of it being in real estate, the value much fluctuates; therefore you may wish to decide for yourself on the spot what should be sold and what retained, and this applies also to his mining properties. If you decide to come out, and intimate the fact in your letter, we are perfectly prepared at once to cable you up to £1,000 for your necessary expenses.
    â€œYours faithfully.”’
    Mr. Darby paused. Then, like a priest intoning the sacred words at the end of his sermon, he added in a more subdued tone: ‘To W. J. Darby, Esqre, 7 Moseley Terrace, Savershill, Newchester-on-Dole, England.’ He raised his head, simultaneously dropping his arm so that the letter, still in his hand, hung by his knee, and gazed earnestly at Sarah.
    â€˜Well,’ said she, rousing herself, ‘here’s a state of things.’
    â€˜A state of things indeed!’ said Mr. Darby, and gradually his face changed, expanded: the smooth, stretched pouches of his cheeks and every crease, every wrinkle, round mouth and eyes redisposed themselves, assumed new relationships, till Mr. Darby’s countenance had melted from its former solemnity into a smile like a midsummer sunrise. ‘A state of things indeed!’ he repeated with profound gusto.
    â€˜And what in the name of wonder,’ said Sarah, ‘shall we do with it all?’
    â€˜Do
with it all? Poof, that’ll be simple enough,’ said Mr. Darby with airy conviction.
    â€˜Simple enough, indeed!’ said Sarah. “You don’t seemto realize what it means. It means about a hundred times as much a year as we have at present.’
    â€˜It means about a hundred pounds a day,’ said Mr. Darby, precise and businesslike.
    â€˜And what do we want with a hundred pounds a day?’ said Sarah in disgust.
    â€˜Speak for yourself, my dear,’ said Mr. Darby, and there was already something of the magnate in his voice. ‘
I
can do with it very well.’
    â€˜Well, anyhow, we can buy this house and have it properly done up,’ said Sarah.
    Mr. Darby stared at her.