"Yes," said Eleanor, rising, for she saw Alicia approaching under Captain Heseltine's escort. "It was about the Jubilee time. He seemed then quite overcome with grief at the loss of his wife. Ah, here's Alicia!"
"Wife!" exclaimed Mrs. Puttock, bestowing on Eleanor a look of deep significance. "It's my belief he never had a wife."
Eleanor started.
"What do you mean?" she began, but she checked herself when she found that Alicia was
close beside her. She hastily bade Mrs. Puttock good-night.
"I mean what I say," observed that lady, with an emphatic nod. Eleanor escaped in bewilderment.
"Who never had a wife?" asked Alicia, with a laugh, as they were putting on their cloaks.
After a moment's pause, Eleanor answered,
"Sir John Oakapple," and she excused this deviation from truth by the sage reflection that girls like Alicia must not be told everything.
"We all know that," commented Alicia, contemptuously. "I hoped it was something interesting."