"Yes, if you wish for it."
"You will not engage yourself to the girl till Kitty knows?"
"You are exacting, mother. I have to think of Miss Graydon too."
"You can think of her all your life. It is my Kitty that is to be deserted and betrayed. You don't know what you are doing."
"Mother, it is some mania of yours. Desertion and betrayal are strong words."
"Let them pass. Technically, I suppose you are free from reproach."
He made a weary gesture, and let her speech pass without answer.
Suddenly the silence of the room was broken by the frou-frou of a silk dress in the corridor outside.
"Ah, here is my Kitty," said Lady Jane. "Are you cold, my darling? and was your party pleasant? Come to the fire."
A young lady, slight and brilliantly fair, had entered the room languidly.