"But I thought you were looking for it—or something of the sort."
"Yes; something of the sort, but not precisely that."
"And it's precisely that that I wish to have done," he said, in a tone that betrayed some irritation; "so I suppose there is no more to be said."
"No; I suppose not. In any case," she added, rising, "I must thank you for being so good as to think of me; and if I feel obliged to decline your proposition, I must ask you to believe that my motives are not petty ones. Now I will say good-afternoon."
Keeping her hands rigidly within her muff, and with a slight, dignified inclination of the head, she turned from him.
She was half-way to the door before Derek recovered himself sufficiently to speak.
"May I ask," he inquired, "what your objections are?"
She turned where she stood, but did not come back toward him.
"I have only one. The position you suggest would be intolerable to your daughter and odious to me."
"But," he asked, with a perplexed contraction of the brows, "isn't it what companions to young ladies are generally engaged for?"