"At Nick's--?" He was interested now.

"What was she doing there?"

"She was sprawling over the room and--rather insolently--staring at me."

If Mrs. Dallow had wished to "draw" her brother she must at this point
have suspected she succeeded, in spite of his care to divest his tone of
all emotion. "Why, does he know her so well? I didn't know."

"She's sitting to him for her portrait--at least she was then."

"Oh yes, I remember--I put him up to that. I'm greatly interested. Is
the portrait good?"

"I haven't the least idea--I didn't look at it. I daresay it's like,"
Julia threw off.

"But how in the world"--and Peter's interest grew franker--"does Nick
find time to paint?"

"I don't know. That horrid man brought her."

"Which horrid man?"--he spoke as if they had their choice.

"The one Nick thinks so clever--the vulgar little man who was at your
place that day and tried to talk to me. I remember he abused theatrical
people to me--as if I cared anything about them. But he has apparently
something to do with your girl."

"Oh I recollect him--I had a discussion with him," Peter patiently said.

"How could you? I must go and dress," his sister went on more
importantly.

"He _was_ clever, remarkably. Miss Rooth and her mother were old friends
of his, and he was the first person to speak of them to me."

"What a distinction! I thought him disgusting!" cried Julia, who was
pressed for time and who had now got up.

"Oh you're severe," said Peter, still bland; but when they separated she
had given him something to think of.

That Nick was painting a beautiful actress was no doubt in part at least
the reason why he was provoking and why his most intimate female friend
had come abroad. The fact didn't render him provoking to his kinsman:
Peter had on the contrary been quite sincere when he qualified it as
interesting. It became indeed on reflexion so interesting that it had
perhaps almost as much to do with Sherringham's now prompt rush over to
London as it had to do with Julia's coming away. Reflexion taught him
further that the matter was altogether a delicate one and suggested that
it was odd he should be mixed up with it in fact when, as Julia's own
affair, he had but wished to keep out of it. It might after all be his
affair a little as well--there was somehow a still more pointed
implication of that in his sister's saying to him the next day that she
wished immensely he would take a fancy to Biddy Dor