naturally considered alteration as
possible as putting a new staircase in a house, or throwing two rooms
into one. And, taking her in his arms, he said: "I know; but it'll all
come right, if we put a good face on it. Shall I talk to Nollie?"

Gratian assented, from the desire to be able to say to her father:
"George is seeing her!" and so stay the need for a discussion. But the
whole thing seemed to her more and more a calamity which nothing could
lessen or smooth away.

George Laird had plenty of cool courage, invaluable in men who have to
inflict as well as to alleviate pain, but he did not like his mission "a
little bit" as he would have said; and he proposed a walk because he
dreaded a scene. Noel accepted for the same reason. She liked George,
and with the disinterested detachment of a sister-in-law, and the
shrewdness of extreme youth, knew him perhaps better than did his wife.
She was sure, at all events, of being neither condemned nor sympathised
with.

They might have gone, of course, in any direction, but chose to make for
the City. Such deep decisions are subconscious. They sought, no doubt,
a dry, unemotional region; or perhaps one where George, who was in
uniform, might rest his arm from the automatic-toy game which the
military play. They had reached Cheapside before he was conscious to the
full of the bizarre nature of this walk with his pretty young
sister-in-law among all the bustling, black-coated mob of money-makers.
'I wish the devil we hadn't come out!' he thought; 'it would have been
easier indoors, after all.'

He cleared his throat, however, and squeezing her arm gently, began:
"Gratian's told me, Nollie. The great thing is to keep your spirit up,
and not worry."

"I suppose you couldn't cure me."

The words, in that delicate spurning voice, absolutely staggered George;
but he said quickly:

"Out of the question, Nollie; impossible! What are you thinking of?"

"Daddy."

The words: "D--n Daddy!" rose to his teeth; he bit them off, and said:
"Bless him! We shall have to see to all that. Do you really want to
keep it from him? It must be one way or the other; no use concealing it,
if it's to come out later."

"No."

He stole a look at her. She was gazing straight before her. How
damnably young she was, how pretty! A lump came up in his throat.

"I shouldn't do anything yet," he said; "too early. Later on, if you'd
like me to tell him. But that's entirely up to you