“O, yes they are! What makes you think so?”
“Not quite so intimate, I will put it, as your brother and Mr. Bickerdike?”
“I’m sure I don’t know. Hugh is great friends with them both.”
“Tell me, now—which would you rather he were most intimate with?”
“How can it matter to me?”
“You have a preference, I expect.”
“I certainly have; but that doesn’t affect the question. It was Hugh you were speaking of, not me.”
“Shall I give your preference? It is for Mr. Bickerdike.”
“Well guessed, Baron. Am I to take it as a compliment to my good taste?”
“He is a superior man.”