Miss Crofton hesitated.
‘Perhaps they might never—?’ asked Merton.
‘Yes,’ said Miss Crofton; ‘perhaps they might not. That would be all to the good for the Church; no ideals would be shattered—the reverse—and dear Julia would—’
‘Cherish their pious memories,’ said Merton.
‘I see that you understand me,’ said Miss Crofton.
Merton did understand, and he was reminded of the wicked lady, who, when tired of her lovers, had them put into a sack, and dropped into the Seine.
‘But,’ he asked, ‘has this ingenious system failed
to work? I should suppose that each young man, on distant and on deadly shores, was far from causing inconvenience.’
‘The defect of the system,’ said Miss Crofton, ‘is that none of them has gone, or seems in a hurry to go. The first—that was Mr. Bathe, Julia?’
Julia nodded.