Thus driven, Edred had no choice. There was no getting out of it. Dorothea waited expectantly. The information was slow in coming, but patience was at length rewarded.
"She is—she is—little," Edred said desperately. "And fair."
"Blue eyes and golden hair?"
"Yes."
"Oh, go on. I don't see her yet. Is she very pretty?"
Edred's "Yes" was gruff; and a certain couplet darted through Dorothea's mind—
"If she be not fair for me,
What care I how fair she be?"
Was that the state of affairs between the two? "No, no!" cried Dorothea to herself; "I hope not! I do hope not! If he is in love with her, can't she care for him? But perhaps this is all put on."
"People's opinions differ about a pretty face," said Edred curtly.
"Yes, of course. Does your brother admire Dolly very much?"