There followed no exchange of letters. From that hour to this the two
had in no way communicated. Mr. Bride, somewhat offended by what he had
seen and surmised of Mr. and Mrs. Lashmar's disposition, held no
correspondence with the vicar of Alverholme; his wife had never been on
friendly terms with Mrs. Lashmar. How Dyce thought of that singular
incident it was impossible to infer from his demeanour; Constance might
well have supposed that he had forgotten all about it.

"Is your work interesting?" were his next words. "What does Lady Ogram
go in for?"

"Many things."

"You prefer it to the other work?"

"It isn't so hard, and it's much more profitable."

"By the bye, who is Lady Ogram?" asked Dyce, with a smiling glance.

"A remarkable old lady. Her husband died ten years ago; she has no
children, and is very rich. I shouldn't think there's a worse-tempered
person living, yet she has all sorts of good qualities. By birth, she
belongs to the working class; by disposition she's a violent
aristocrat. I often hate her; at other times, I like her very much."

Dyce listened with increasing attention.

"Has she any views?" he inquired.

"Oh, plenty!" Constance answered, with a dry little laugh.

"About social questions--that kind of thing?"

"Especially."

"I shouldn't be surprised if she called herself a socialist."

"That's just what she does--when she thinks it will annoy people she
dislikes."

Dyce smiled meditatively.

"I should like to know her. Yes, I should very much like to know her.
Could you manage it for me?"

Constance did not reply. She was comparing the Dyce Lashmar of to-day
with him of the past, and trying to understand the change that had come
about in his talk, his manner. It would have helped her had she known
that, in the ripe experience of his seven and twentieth year, Dyce had
arrived at certain conclusions with regard to women, and thereupon had
based a method of practical behaviour towards them. Women, he held, had
never been treated with elementary justice. To worship them was no less
unfair than to hold them in contempt. The honest man, in our day,
should regard a woman without the least bias of sexual prejudice;
should view her simply as a fellow-being, who, according to
circumstances, might or not be on his own plane. Away with all empty
show and form, those relics of barbarism known as chivalry! He wished
to discontinue even the habit of hat-doffing in female presence. Was
no