Desperate Remedies

by Thomas Hardy

  VII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYS

  1. AUGUST THE SEVENTEENTH

  The time of day was four o'clock in the afternoon. The place was thelady's study or boudoir, Knapwater House. The person was Miss Aldclyffesitting there alone, clothed in deep mourning.

  The funeral of the old Captain had taken place, and his will had beenread. It was very concise, and had been executed about five yearsprevious to his death. It was attested by his solicitors, Messrs.Nyttleton and Tayling, of Lincoln's Inn Fields. The whole of his estate,real and personal, was bequeathed to his daughter Cytherea, for her soleand absolute use, subject only to the payment of a legacy to the rector,their relative, and a few small amounts to the servants.

  Miss Aldclyffe had not chosen the easiest chair of her boudoir to sitin, or even a chair of ordinary comfort, but an uncomfortable, high,narrow-backed, oak framed and seated chair, which was allowed toremain in the room only on the ground of being a companion in artisticquaintness to an old coffer beside it, and was never used except tostand in to reach for a book from the highest row of shelves. But shehad sat erect in this chair for more than an hour, for the reason thatshe was utterly unconscious of what her actions and bodily feelingswere. The chair had stood nearest her path on entering the room, and shehad gone to it in a dream.

  She sat in the attitude which denotes unflagging, intense, concentratedthought--as if she were cast in bronze. Her feet were together, her bodybent a little forward, and quite unsupported by the back of the chair;her hands on her knees, her eyes fixed intently on the corner of afootstool.

  At last she moved and tapped her fingers upon the table at her side.Her pent-up ideas had finally found some channel to advance in. Motionsbecame more and more frequent as she laboured to carry further andfurther the problem which occupied her brain. She sat back and drewa long breath: she sat sideways and leant her forehead upon herhand. Later still she arose, walked up and down the room--at firstabstractedly, with her features as firmly set as ever; but by degreesher brow relaxed, her footsteps became lighter and more leisurely; herhead rode gracefully and was no longer bowed. She plumed herself like aswan after exertion.

  'Yes,' she said aloud. 'To get _him_ here without letting him know thatI have any other object than that of getting a useful man--that's thedifficulty--and that I think I can master.'

  She rang for the new maid, a placid woman of forty with a few greyhairs.

  'Ask Miss Graye if she can come to me.'

  Cytherea was not far off, and came in.

  'Do you know anything about architects and surveyors?' said MissAldclyffe abruptly.

  'Know anything?' replied Cytherea, poising herself on her toe toconsider the compass of the question.

  'Yes--know anything,' said Miss Aldclyffe.

  'Owen is an architect and surveyor's draughtsman,' the maiden said, andthought of somebody else who was likewise.

  'Yes! that's why I asked you. What are the different kinds of workcomprised in an architect's practice? They lay out estates, andsuperintend the various works done upon them, I should think, amongother things?'

  'Those are, more properly, a land or building steward's duties--at leastI have always imagined so. Country architects include those things intheir practice; city architects don't.'

  'I know that, child. But a steward's is an indefinite fast and looseprofession, it seems to me. Shouldn't you think that a man who had beenbrought up as an architect would do for a steward?'

  Cytherea had doubts whether an architect pure would do.

  The chief pleasure connected with asking an opinion lies in not adoptingit. Miss Aldclyffe replied decisively--

  'Nonsense; of course he would. Your brother Owen makes plans for countrybuildings--such as cottages, stables, homesteads, and so on?'

  'Yes; he does.'

  'And superintends the building of them?'

  'Yes; he will soon.'

  'And he surveys land?'

  'O yes.'

  'And he knows about hedges and ditches--how wide they ought to be,boundaries, levelling, planting trees to keep away the winds, measuringtimber, houses for ninety-nine years, and such things?'

  'I have never heard him say that; but I think Mr. Gradfield does thosethings. Owen, I am afraid, is inexperienced as yet.'

  'Yes; your brother is not old enough for such a post yet, of course.And then there are rent-days, the audit and winding up of tradesmen'saccounts. I am afraid, Cytherea, you don't know much more about thematter than I do myself.... I am going out just now,' she continued. 'Ishall not want you to walk with me to-day. Run away till dinner-time.'

  Miss Aldclyffe went out of doors, and down the steps to the lawn: thenturning to the left, through a shrubbery, she opened a wicket and passedinto a neglected and leafy carriage-drive, leading down the hill. Thisshe followed till she reached the point of its greatest depression,which was also the lowest ground in the whole grove.

  The trees here were so interlaced, and hung their branches so near theground, that a whole summer's day was scarcely long enough to changethe air pervading the spot from its normal state of coolness to even atemporary warmth. The unvarying freshness was helped by the nearness ofthe ground to the level of the springs, and by the presence of a deep,sluggish stream close by, equally well shaded by bushes and a high wall.Following the road, which now ran along at the margin of the stream,she came to an opening in the wall, on the other side of the water,revealing a large rectangular nook from which the stream proceeded,covered with froth, and accompanied by a dull roar. Two more steps,and she was opposite the nook, in full view of the cascade forming itsfurther boundary. Over the top could be seen the bright outer sky in theform of a crescent, caused by the curve of a bridge across the rapids,and the trees above.

  Beautiful as was the scene she did not look in that direction. The samestanding-ground afforded another prospect, straight in the front, lesssombre than the water on the right or the trees all around. The avenueand grove which flanked it abruptly terminated a few yards ahead, wherethe ground began to rise, and on the remote edge of the greensward thuslaid open, stood all that remained of the original manor-house, to whichthe dark margin-line of the trees in the avenue formed an adequateand well-fitting frame. It was the picture thus presented that wasnow interesting Miss Aldclyffe--not artistically or historically,but practically--as regarded its fitness for adaptation to modernrequirements.

  In front, detached from everything else, rose the most ancient portionof the structure--an old arched gateway, flanked by the bases of twosmall towers, and nearly covered with creepers, which had clamberedover the eaves of the sinking roof, and up the gable to the crest of theAldclyffe family perched on the apex. Behind this, at a distance of tenor twenty yards, came the only portion of the main building that stillexisted--an Elizabethan fragment, consisting of as much as could becontained under three gables and a cross roof behind. Against the wallcould be seen ragged lines indicating the form of other destroyed gableswhich had once joined it there. The mullioned and transomed windows,containing five or six lights, were mostly bricked up to the extentof two or three, and the remaining portion fitted with cottagewindow-frames carelessly inserted, to suit the purpose to which theold place was now applied, it being partitioned out into small roomsdownstairs to form cottages for two labourers and their families; theupper portion was arranged as a storehouse for divers kinds of roots andfruit.

  The owner of the picturesque spot, after her survey from thispoint, went up to the walls and walked into the old court, where thepaving-stones were pushed sideways and upwards by the thrust of thegrasses between them. Two or three little children, with their fingersin their mouths, came out to look at her, and then ran in to tell theirmothers in loud tones of secrecy that Miss Aldclyffe was coming. MissAldclyffe, however, did not come in. She concluded her survey of theexterior by making a complete circuit of the building; then turned intoa nook a short distance off where round and square timber, a saw-pit,planks, grindstones, heaps of building stone and brick, ex
plained thatthe spot was the centre of operations for the building work done on theestate.

  She paused, and looked around. A man who had seen her from the window ofthe workshops behind, came out and respectfully lifted his hat to her.It was the first time she had been seen walking outside the house sinceher father's death.

  'Strooden, could the Old House be made a decent residence of, withoutmuch trouble?' she inquired.

  The mechanic considered, and spoke as each consideration completeditself.

  'You don't forget, ma'am, that two-thirds of the place is already pulleddown, or gone to ruin?'

  'Yes; I know.'

  'And that what's left may almost as well be, ma'am.'

  'Why may it?'

  ''Twas so cut up inside when they made it into cottages, that the wholecarcase is full of cracks.'

  'Still by pulling down the inserted partitions, and adding a littleoutside, it could be made to answer the purpose of an ordinary six oreight-roomed house?'

  'Yes, ma'am.'

  'About what would it cost?' was the question which had invariably comenext in every communication of this kind to which the superintendingworkman had been a party during his whole experience. To his surprise,Miss Aldclyffe did not put it. The man thought her object in altering anold house must have been an unusually absorbing one not to prompt whatwas so instinctive in owners as hardly to require any prompting at all.

  'Thank you: that's sufficient, Strooden,' she said. 'You will understandthat it is not unlikely some alteration may be made here in a shorttime, with reference to the management of the affairs.'

  Strooden said 'Yes,' in a complex voice, and looked uneasy.

  'During the life of Captain Aldclyffe, with you as the foreman of works,and he himself as his own steward, everything worked well. But nowit may be necessary to have a steward, whose management will encroachfurther upon things which have hitherto been left in your hands than didyour late master's. What I mean is, that he will directly and in detailsuperintend all.'

  'Then--I shall not be wanted, ma'am?' he faltered.

  'O yes; if you like to stay on as foreman in the yard and workshopsonly. I should be sorry to lose you. However, you had better consider. Iwill send for you in a few days.'

  Leaving him to suspense, and all the ills that came in itstrain--distracted application to his duties, and an undefined numberof sleepless nights and untasted dinners, Miss Aldclyffe looked at herwatch and returned to the House. She was about to keep an appointmentwith her solicitor, Mr. Nyttleton, who had been to Budmouth, and wascoming to Knapwater on his way back to London.

  2. AUGUST THE TWENTIETH

  On the Saturday subsequent to Mr. Nyttleton's visit to Knapwater House,the subjoined advertisement appeared in the Field and the Buildernewspapers:--

  'LAND STEWARD.

  'A gentleman of integrity and professional skill is required immediatelyfor the MANAGEMENT of an ESTATE, containing about 1000 acres, uponwhich agricultural improvements and the erection of buildings arecontemplated. He must be a man of superior education, unmarried, and notmore than thirty years of age. Considerable preference will be shownfor one who possesses an artistic as well as a practical knowledge ofplanning and laying out. The remuneration will consist of a salary of220 pounds, with the old manor-house as a residence--Address Messrs.Nyttleton and Tayling, solicitors, Lincoln's Inn Fields.'

  A copy of each paper was sent to Miss Aldclyffe on the day ofpublication. The same evening she told Cytherea that she was advertisingfor a steward, who would live at the old manor-house, showing her thepapers containing the announcement.

  What was the drift of that remark? thought the maiden; or was it merelymade to her in confidential intercourse, as other arrangements weretold her daily. Yet it seemed to have more meaning than common. Sheremembered the conversation about architects and surveyors, and herbrother Owen. Miss Aldclyffe knew that his situation was precarious,that he was well educated and practical, and was applying himself heartand soul to the details of the profession and all connected withit. Miss Aldclyffe might be ready to take him if he could competesuccessfully with others who would reply. She hazarded a question:

  'Would it be desirable for Owen to answer it?'

  'Not at all,' said Miss Aldclyffe peremptorily.

  A flat answer of this kind had ceased to alarm Cytherea. MissAldclyffe's blunt mood was not her worst. Cytherea thought of anotherman, whose name, in spite of resolves, tears, renunciations and injuredpride, lingered in her ears like an old familiar strain. That man wasqualified for a stewardship under a king.

  'Would it be of any use if Edward Springrove were to answer it?' shesaid, resolutely enunciating the name.

  'None whatever,' replied Miss Aldclyffe, again in the same decided tone.

  'You are very unkind to speak in that way.'

  'Now don't pout like a goosie, as you are. I don't want men like eitherof them, for, of course, I must look to the good of the estate ratherthan to that of any individual. The man I want must have been morespecially educated. I have told you that we are going to London nextweek; it is mostly on this account.'

  Cytherea found that she had mistaken the drift of Miss Aldclyffe'speculiar explicitness on the subject of advertising, and wrote to tellher brother that if he saw the notice it would be useless to reply.

  3. AUGUST THE TWENTY-FIFTH

  Five days after the above-mentioned dialogue took place they went toLondon, and, with scarcely a minute's pause, to the solicitors' officesin Lincoln's Inn Fields.

  They alighted opposite one of the characteristic entrances about theplace--a gate which was never, and could never be, closed, flanked bylamp-standards carrying no lamp. Rust was the only active agent to beseen there at this time of the day and year. The palings along thefront were rusted away at their base to the thinness of wires, and thesuccessive coats of paint, with which they were overlaid in bygonedays, had been completely undermined by the same insidious canker, whichlifted off the paint in flakes, leaving the raw surface of the iron onpalings, standards, and gate hinges, of a staring blood-red.

  But once inside the railings the picture changed. The court and officeswere a complete contrast to the grand ruin of the outwork which enclosedthem. Well-painted respectability extended over, within, and around thedoorstep; and in the carefully swept yard not a particle of dust wasvisible.

  Mr. Nyttleton, who had just come up from Margate, where he was stayingwith his family, was standing at the top of his own staircase as thepair ascended. He politely took them inside.

  'Is there a comfortable room in which this young lady can sit during ourinterview?' said Miss Aldclyffe.

  It was rather a favourite habit of hers to make much of Cytherea whenthey were out, and snub her for it afterwards when they got home.

  'Certainly--Mr. Tayling's.' Cytherea was shown into an inner room.

  Social definitions are all made relatively: an absolute datum is onlyimagined. The small gentry about Knapwater seemed unpractised to MissAldclyffe, Miss Aldclyffe herself seemed unpractised to Mr. Nyttleton'sexperienced old eyes.

  'Now then,' the lady said, when she was alone with the lawyer; 'what isthe result of our advertisement?'

  It was late summer; the estate-agency, building, engineering, andsurveying worlds were dull. There were forty-five replies to theadvertisement.

  Mr. Nyttleton spread them one by one before Miss Aldclyffe. 'You willprobably like to read some of them yourself, madam?' he said.

  'Yes, certainly,' said she.

  'I will not trouble you with those which are from persons manifestlyunfit at first sight,' he continued; and began selecting from the heaptwos and threes which he had marked, collecting others into his hand.

  'The man we want lies among these, if my judgment doesn't deceive me,and from them it would be advisable to select a certain number to becommunicated with.'

  'I should like to see every one--only just to glance them over--exactlyas they came,' she said suasively.

&
nbsp; He looked as if he thought this a waste of his time, but dismissing hissentiment unfolded each singly and laid it before her. As he laid themout, it struck him that she studied them quite as rapidly as he couldspread them. He slyly glanced up from the outer corner of his eye tohers, and noticed that all she did was look at the name at the bottom ofthe letter, and then put the enclosure aside without further ceremony.He thought this an odd way of inquiring into the merits of forty-fivemen who at considerable trouble gave in detail reasons why they believedthemselves well qualified for a certain post. She came to the final one,and put it down with the rest.

  Then the lady said that in her opinion it would be best to get as manyreplies as they possibly could before selecting--'to give us a widerchoice. What do you think, Mr. Nyttleton?'

  It seemed to him, he said, that a greater number than those they alreadyhad would scarcely be necessary, and if they waited for more, therewould be this disadvantage attending it, that some of those they nowcould command would possibly not be available.

  'Never mind, we will run that risk,' said Miss Aldclyffe. 'Let theadvertisement be inserted once more, and then we will certainly settlethe matter.'

  Mr. Nyttleton bowed, and seemed to think Miss Aldclyffe, for a singlewoman, and one who till so very recently had never concerned herselfwith business of any kind, a very meddlesome client. But she was rich,and handsome still. 'She's a new broom in estate-management as yet,'he thought. 'She will soon get tired of this,' and he parted from herwithout a sentiment which could mar his habitual blandness.

  The two ladies then proceeded westward. Dismissing the cab in WaterlooPlace, they went along Pall Mall on foot, where in place of the usualwell-dressed clubbists--rubicund with alcohol--were to be seen, in linenpinafores, flocks of house-painters pallid from white lead. When theyhad reached the Green Park, Cytherea proposed that they should sit downawhile under the young elms at the brow of the hill. This they did--thegrowl of Piccadilly on their left hand--the monastic seclusion of thePalace on their right: before them, the clock tower of the Housesof Parliament, standing forth with a metallic lustre against a lividLambeth sky.

  Miss Aldclyffe still carried in her hand a copy of the newspaper, andwhile Cytherea had been interesting herself in the picture around,glanced again at the advertisement.

  She heaved a slight sigh, and began to fold it up again. In the actionher eye caught sight of two consecutive advertisements on the cover,one relating to some lecture on Art, and addressed to members of theInstitute of Architects. The other emanated from the same source, butwas addressed to the public, and stated that the exhibition of drawingsat the Institute's rooms would close at the end of that week.

  Her eye lighted up. She sent Cytherea back to the hotel in a cab, thenturned round by Piccadilly into Bond Street, and proceeded to the roomsof the Institute. The secretary was sitting in the lobby. After makingher payment, and looking at a few of the drawings on the walls, in thecompany of three gentlemen, the only other visitors to the exhibition,she turned back and asked if she might be allowed to see a list of themembers. She was a little connected with the architectural world, shesaid, with a smile, and was interested in some of the names.

  'Here it is, madam,' he replied, politely handing her a pamphletcontaining the names.

  Miss Aldclyffe turned the leaves till she came to the letter M. The nameshe hoped to find there was there, with the address appended, as was thecase with all the rest.

  The address was at some chambers in a street not far from Charing Cross.'Chambers,' as a residence, had always been assumed by the lady to implythe condition of a bachelor. She murmured two words, 'There still.'

  Another request had yet to be made, but it was of a more noticeable kindthan the first, and might compromise the secrecy with which she wishedto act throughout this episode. Her object was to get one of theenvelopes lying on the secretary's table, stamped with the die of theInstitute; and in order to get it she was about to ask if she mightwrite a note.

  But the secretary's back chanced to be turned, and he now went towardsone of the men at the other end of the room, who had called him to asksome question relating to an etching on the wall. Quick as thought, MissAldclyffe stood before the table, slipped her hand behind her, took oneof the envelopes and put it in her pocket.

  She sauntered round the rooms for two or three minutes longer, thenwithdrew and returned to her hotel.

  Here she cut the Knapwater advertisement from the paper, put it into theenvelope she had stolen, embossed with the society's stamp, and directedit in a round clerkly hand to the address she had seen in the list ofmembers' names submitted to her:--

  AENEAS MANSTON, ESQ., WYKEHAM CHAMBERS, SPRING GARDENS.

  This ended her first day's work in London.

  4. FROM AUGUST THE TWENTY-SIXTH TO SEPTEMBER THE FIRST

  The two Cythereas continued at the Westminster Hotel, Miss Aldclyffeinforming her companion that business would detain them in Londonanother week. The days passed as slowly and quietly as days can pass ina city at that time of the year, the shuttered windows about the squaresand terraces confronting their eyes like the white and sightless orbs ofblind men. On Thursday Mr. Nyttleton called, bringing the whole numberof replies to the advertisement. Cytherea was present at the interview,by Miss Aldclyffe's request--either from whim or design.

  Ten additional letters were the result of the second week's insertion,making fifty-five in all. Miss Aldclyffe looked them over as before. Onewas signed--

  AENEAS MANSTON, 133, TURNGATE STREET, LIVERPOOL.

  'Now, then, Mr. Nyttleton, will you make a selection, and I will add oneor two,' Miss Aldclyffe said.

  Mr. Nyttleton scanned the whole heap of letters, testimonials, andreferences, sorting them into two heaps. Manston's missive, after a mereglance, was thrown amongst the summarily rejected ones.

  Miss Aldclyffe read, or pretended to read after the lawyer. When he hadfinished, five lay in the group he had selected. 'Would you like to addto the number?' he said, turning to the lady.

  'No,' she said carelessly. 'Well, two or three additional ones rathertook my fancy,' she added, searching for some in the larger collection.

  She drew out three. One was Manston's.

  'These eight, then, shall be communicated with,' said the lawyer, takingup the eight letters and placing them by themselves.

  They stood up. 'If I myself, Miss Aldclyffe, were only concernedpersonally,' he said, in an off-hand way, and holding up a lettersingly, 'I should choose this man unhesitatingly. He writes honestly,is not afraid to name what he does not consider himself well acquaintedwith--a rare thing to find in answers to advertisements; he is wellrecommended, and possesses some qualities rarely found in combination.Oddly enough, he is not really a steward. He was bred a farmer, studiedbuilding affairs, served on an estate for some time, then went with anarchitect, and is now well qualified as architect, estate agent, andsurveyor. That man is sure to have a fine head for a manor like yours.'He tapped the letter as he spoke. 'Yes, I should choose him withouthesitation--speaking personally.'

  'And I think,' she said artificially, 'I should choose this one as amatter of mere personal whim, which, of course, can't be given way towhen practical questions have to be considered.'

  Cytherea, after looking out of the window, and then at the newspapers,had become interested in the proceedings between the clever MissAldclyffe and the keen old lawyer, which reminded her of a gameat cards. She looked inquiringly at the two letters--one in MissAldclyffe's hand, the other in Mr. Nyttleton's.

  'What is the name of your man?' said Miss Aldclyffe.

  'His name--' said the lawyer, looking down the page; 'what is hisname?--it is Edward Springrove.'

  Miss Aldclyffe glanced towards Cytherea, who was getting red and pale byturns. She looked imploringly at Miss Aldclyffe.

  'The name of my man,' said Miss Aldclyffe, looking at her letter inturn; 'is, I think--yes--AEneas Manston.'

  5. SEPTEMBER T
HE THIRD

  The next morning but one was appointed for the interviews, which were tobe at the lawyer's offices. Mr. Nyttleton and Mr. Tayling were both intown for the day, and the candidates were admitted one by one into aprivate room. In the window recess was seated Miss Aldclyffe, wearingher veil down.

  The lawyer had, in his letters to the selected number, timed eachcandidate at an interval of ten or fifteen minutes from those precedingand following. They were shown in as they arrived, and had shortconversations with Mr. Nyttleton--terse, and to the point. MissAldclyffe neither moved nor spoke during this proceeding; it might havebeen supposed that she was quite unmindful of it, had it not beenfor what was revealed by a keen penetration of the veil covering hercountenance--the rays from two bright black eyes, directed towards thelawyer and his interlocutor.

  Springrove came fifth; Manston seventh. When the examination of all wasended, and the last man had retired, Nyttleton, again as at the formertime, blandly asked his client which of the eight she personallypreferred. 'I still think the fifth we spoke to, Springrove, the manwhose letter I pounced upon at first, to be by far the best qualified,in short, most suitable generally.'

  'I am sorry to say that I differ from you; I lean to my first notionstill--that Mr.--Mr. Manston is most desirable in tone and bearing, andeven specifically; I think he would suit me best in the long-run.'

  Mr. Nyttleton looked out of the window at the whitened wall of thecourt.

  'Of course, madam, your opinion may be perfectly sound and reliable;a sort of instinct, I know, often leads ladies by a short cut toconclusions truer than those come to by men after laborious round-aboutcalculations, based on long experience. I must say I shouldn't recommendhim.'

  'Why, pray?'

  'Well, let us look first at his letter of answer to the advertisement.He didn't reply till the last insertion that's one thing. His letter isbold and frank in tone, so bold and frank that the second thought afterreading it is that not honesty, but unscrupulousness of consciencedictated it. It is written in an indifferent mood, as if he felt that hewas humbugging us in his statement that he was the right man for suchan office, that he tried hard to get it only as a matter of form whichrequired that he should neglect no opportunity that came in his way.'

  'You may be right, Mr. Nyttleton, but I don't quite see the grounds ofyour reasoning.'

  'He has been, as you perceive, almost entirely used to the office dutiesof a city architect, the experience we don't want. You want a manwhose acquaintance with rural landed properties is more practicaland closer--somebody who, if he has not filled exactly such an officebefore, has lived a country life, knows the ins and outs of countrytenancies, building, farming, and so on.'

  'He's by far the most intellectual looking of them all.'

  'Yes; he may be--your opinion, Miss Aldclyffe, is worth more than minein that matter. And more than you say, he is a man of parts--his brainpower would soon enable him to master details and fit him for the post,I don't much doubt that. But to speak clearly' (here his words startedoff at a jog-trot) 'I wouldn't run the risk of placing the managementof an estate of mine in his hands on any account whatever. There, that'sflat and plain, madam.'

  'But, definitely,' she said, with a show of impatience, 'what is yourreason?'

  'He is a voluptuary with activity; which is a very bad form of man--asbad as it is rare.'

  'Oh. Thank you for your explicit statement, Mr. Nyttleton,' said MissAldclyffe, starting a little and flushing with displeasure.

  Mr. Nyttleton nodded slightly, as a sort of neutral motion, simplysignifying a receipt of the information, good or bad.

  'And I really think it is hardly worth while to trouble you furtherin this,' continued the lady. 'He's quite good enough for a littleinsignificant place like mine at Knapwater; and I know that I could notget on with one of the others for a single month. We'll try him.'

  'Certainly, Miss Aldclyffe,' said the lawyer. And Mr. Manston waswritten to, to the effect that he was the successful competitor.

  'Did you see how unmistakably her temper was getting the better of her,that minute you were in the room?' said Nyttleton to Tayling, when theirclient had left the house. Nyttleton was a man who surveyed everybody'scharacter in a sunless and shadowless northern light. A culpableslyness, which marked him as a boy, had been moulded by Time, theImprover, into honourable circumspection.

  We frequently find that the quality which, conjoined with the simplicityof the child, is vice, is virtue when it pervades the knowledge of theman.

  'She was as near as damn-it to boiling over when I added up her man,'continued Nyttleton. 'His handsome face is his qualification in hereyes. They have met before; I saw that.'

  'He didn't seem conscious of it,' said the junior.

  'He didn't. That was rather puzzling to me. But still, if ever a woman'sface spoke out plainly that she was in love with a man, hers did thatshe was with him. Poor old maid, she's almost old enough to be hismother. If that Manston's a schemer he'll marry her, as sure as I amNyttleton. Let's hope he's honest, however.'

  'I don't think she's in love with him,' said Tayling. He had seen butlittle of the pair, and yet he could not reconcile what he had noticedin Miss Aldclyffe's behaviour with the idea that it was the bearing of awoman towards her lover.

  'Well, your experience of the fiery phenomenon is more recent thanmine,' rejoined Nyttleton carelessly. 'And you may remember the natureof it best.'