take part in conversation about
Whitelaw College, Godwin was disturbed by an uncertainty which had
never left his mind at rest during the past two years;--was it, or was
it not, generally known to his Twybridge acquaintances that he studied
as the pensioner of Sir Job Whitelaw? To outward seeming all delicacy
had been exercised in the bestowal of Sir Job's benefaction. At the
beginning of each academic session Mrs. Peak had privately received a
cheque which represented the exact outlay in fees for the course her
son was pursuing; payment was then made to the registrar as if from
Peak himself. But Lady Whitelaw's sisters were in the secret, and was
it likely that they maintained absolute discretion in talking with
their Twybridge friends? There seemed, in the first instance, to be a
tacit understanding that the whole affair should remain strictly
private, and to Godwin himself, sensible enough of such refinements, it
was by no means inconceivable that silence had been strictly preserved.
He found no difficulty in imagining that Sir Job's right hand knew
nothing of what the left performed, and it might be that the
authorities of Whitelaw had no hint of his peculiar position. Still, he
was perchance mistaken. The Professors perhaps regarded him as a sort
of charity-boy, and Twybridge possibly saw him in the same light. The
doubt flashed upon his mind while he was trying to eat and converse
with becoming self-possession. He dug his heel into the carpet and
silently cursed the burden of his servitude.

When the meal was over, Mr. Moxey led the way out into the garden.
Christian walked apart with Janet: Godwin strolled about between his
host and the eldest Miss Moxey, talking of he knew not what. In a short
half-hour he screwed up his courage to the point of leave-taking.
Marcella and three of her cousins had disappeared, so that the
awkwardness of departure was reduced. Christian, who seemed to be in a
very contented mood, accompanied the guest as far as the garden gate.

'What will be your special line of work when you leave Whitelaw?' he
inquired. 'Your tastes seem about equally divided between science and
literature.'

'I haven't the least idea what I shall do,' was Peak's reply.

'Very much my own state of mind when I came home from Zurich a year
ago. But it had been taken for granted that I was preparing for
business, so into business I went.' He laughed good-humouredly.
'Perhaps you will be drawn to London?'

'Y