That gallant gentleman knew as well as the lawyer did that Mr Pottinger himself, whose land adjoined Hodder's, was the eligible tenant in question.
"There will be no difficulty about that, Pottinger.

Of course, you must give Hodder the option of offering your friend's price.

If he does not, it is clearly the duty of the executors to take the better tenant." He took up his hat and turned to go.
"By the way," said he at the door, "it will hardly be necessary, I take it, to go through the farce of bringing a trifling matter of this kind before the other executors; Mrs Ingleton should really be spared all worry of this sort; and as for the other one--well, he chooses to be somewhere else." "Quite so, quite so.

If you and Mrs Ingleton sign the lease it will be sufficient," said Mr Pottinger.
Unluckily for the pleasantly arranged plan of these two good gentlemen, Miss Rosalind Oliphant took it into her pretty head a day or so afterwards to call at old Hodder's cottage in passing, to ask for a glass of milk.

The young lady was in a very discontented frame of mind.
She was angry with Mr Armstrong for staying away so long.