r that sound
outside, for she had not told him that Nidia was out, and knew that he
was still hoping she might only be in another room. At length he
enquired.

"Miss Commerell has gone out," she replied. "She went round to see some
people; I didn't even hear who they were. She won't be back till
lunch-time, if then; and perhaps it is just as well, Mr Ames, for I
have been wanting to have a little quiet conversation with you. Now we
can have it."

"Yes?" he said enquiringly. But tranquil as the tone was, she had not
failed to note the scarcely perceptible start of conscious dismay evoked
by the announcement. Yet now it had come to the point, she for her part
hardly knew how to begin, and he was not going to help her. Besides,
his tranquil self-possession was somewhat disconcerting. However, she
started in at it, characteristically, headlong.

"Now, you must not be angry with me, Mr Ames; but I want to talk to you
as a woman of the world to a man of the world. In short, about Miss
Commerell."

"Such a subject cannot but be interesting, Mrs Bateman."

"She is under my charge, you know."

"Yes. You are to be congratulated on the delightful nature of such a
charge."

"But you admit that it is one which entails a grave responsibility?"

"The gravest responsibility," he replied.

"Well, then, the gravity of that responsibility must be my excuse for
what I am about to say. Don't you think you come here rather often?"

She was exasperated by his imperturbability. She could see he meant
fencing, wherefore she clubbed him without further preliminary.

"Do I?" he answered, in the same even tone.

She could hardly restrain her wrath, and her voice took a higher pitch.

"Do you?" she echoed somewhat stupidly, because fast losing her temper.
"Well, when I tell you people are beginning to talk about it?"

"Yes; they would be sure to do that. You see, they have so little to
talk about, all crowded up together here."

She was taken wildly aback. The unparalleled impudence of the man,
taking everything for granted in this way!

"Well, I can't have Miss Commerell talked about, and I won't. And
that's all about it."

"Oh, it's about Miss Commerell they are talking? I understood you to
mean it was about my coming here."

Then Mrs Bateman lost her temper, and, as women of her stamp usually do
under such circumstances, she became rude.

"Bless the man, is he quite a fool?" she broke forth, fairly quiveri