He wanted money to relieve a pressing embarrassment, and he also wished to cultivate his acquaintance with Beatrice Meadowsweet.

He was not absolutely in love with Beatrice, but her cool indifference to all his fascinations piqued him.

He thought it would be pleasant to see more of her, delightful to make a conquest of her.

He was not the sort of man to thwart his own inclinations.

Beatrice had contrived to make Northbury interesting to him, and he thought he could easily manage to get leave to visit it soon again.
That evening, therefore, Mrs.Bertram not only found herself arranging to put her hand to a bill, payable at the end of six months, for her son's benefit, but further, quite complacently agreeing to call the very next day on Mrs.Meadowsweet, the wife of the ex-shopkeeper.
Hence that visit which had aroused the jealous feelings not only of Mrs.
Morris, of Mrs, Butler and Miss Peters, but more or less of the whole society of Northbury..