"You hold Sir John Killigrew in some affection ?" he said between statement and inquiry.
"Why, yes.

He was our guardian until my brother came of full age." Sir Oliver made a wry face.

"Aye, there's the rub.

Well, I've all but killed him." She drew back into her chair, recoiling before him, and he saw horror leap to her eyes and blench her face.

He made haste to explain the causes that had led to this, he told her briefly of the calumnies concerning him that Sir John had put about to vent his spite at having been thwarted in a matter of his coveted licence to build at Smithick.
"That mattered little," he concluded.