“You are taking a tone with me that I don’t like,” he said. “A tone I won’t bear from any man.”

“I am advising you for your good,” returned the Count, with a smile of quiet contempt. “Give yourself time⁠—give Lady Glyde time. Have you forgotten that your dogcart is waiting at the door? My tone surprises you⁠—ha? I dare say it does⁠—it is the tone of a man who can keep his temper. How many doses of good advice have I given you in my time? More than you can count. Have I ever been wrong? I defy you to quote me an instance of it. Go! take your drive. The matter of the signature can wait till tomorrow. Let it wait⁠—and renew it when you come back.”