Mrs. Roden was at home, and received him, of course, with her most gracious smile; but her heart sank within her as she saw him, for she felt sure that he had come in pursuit of Marion Fay. "It is very kind of you to call," she said. "I had heard from George that you had gone down into the country since we had the pleasure of dining with you."
"Yes; my father has been unwell, and I had to stay with him a few days or I should have been here sooner. You got home all of you quite well?"
"Oh, yes."
"Miss Fay did not catch cold?"
"Not at all;—though I fear she is hardly strong."
"She is not ill, I hope?"
"Oh, no; not that. But she lives here very quietly, and I doubt whether the excitement of going out is good for her."
"There was not much excitement at Hendon Hall, I think," he said, laughing.
"Not for you, but for her perhaps. In appreciating our own condition we are so apt to forget what is the condition of others! To Marion Fay it was a strange event to have to dine at your house,—and strange also to receive little courtesies such as yours. It is hard for you to conceive how strongly the nature of such a girl may be effected by novelties. I have almost regretted, Lord Hampstead, that I should have consented to take her there."
"Has she said anything?"