-she
did not seem disposed to withdraw.

'Are you busy, Alfred?'

'Why?'

'I thought I should like just to speak of something.'

She was using the opportunity of his good humour. Yule spoke to her with
the usual carelessness, but not forbiddingly.

'What is it? Those Holloway people, I'll warrant.'

'No, no! It's about Marian. She had a letter from one of those young
ladies this afternoon.'

'What young ladies?' asked Yule, with impatience of this circuitous
approach.

'The Miss Milvains.'

'Well, there's no harm that I know of. They're decent people.'

'Yes; so you told me. But she began to speak about their brother, and--'

'What about him? Do say what you want to say, and have done with it!'

'I can't help thinking, Alfred, that she's disappointed you didn't ask
him to come here.'

Yule stared at her in slight surprise. He was still not angry, and
seemed quite willing to consider this matter suggested to him so
timorously.

'Oh, you think so? Well, I don't know. Why should I have asked him?
It was only because Miss Harrow seemed to wish it that I saw him down
there. I have no particular interest in him. And as for--'

He broke off and seated himself. Mrs Yule stood at a distance.

'We must remember her age,' she said.

'Why yes, of course.'

He mused, and began to nibble a biscuit.

'And you know, Alfred, she never does meet any young men. I've often
thought it wasn't right to her.'

'H'm! But this lad Milvain is a very doubtful sort of customer. To begin
with, he has nothing, and they tell me his mother for the most part
supports him. I don't quite approve of that. She isn't well off, and he
ought to have been making a living by now.

He has a kind of cleverness, may do something; but there's no being sure
of that.'

These thoughts were not coming into his mind for the first time. On the
occasion when he met Milvain and Marian together in the country road he
had necessarily reflected upon the possibilities of such intercourse,
and with the issue that he did not care to give any particular
encouragement to its continuance. He of course heard of Milvain's
leave-taking call, and he purposely refrained from seeing the young man
after that. The matter took no very clear shape in his meditations; he
saw no likelihood that either of the young people would think much of
the other after their parting, and time enough to trouble one's head
with such subjects when they could no longer be postponed