'He should not have let his son loose here.'
'So he allows, and that I saw clearer than he—which I did not, for my suspicions were in another direction, and I fear not without cause, on one side at least.'
'That's the horrid part of it!'
'So persuaded was I, that I went on at cross-purposes at first, and had to ask point-blank which of my sisters he meant, but I don't think I betrayed Angela. What is to be done about her?'
'Oh! tiresome love! Why could they not let you alone a little while? I think Angela has some notion, and that it must be what has made her so very queer.'
'Perhaps! I thought it was her share in the disaster, poor girl!'
'That would not have made her almost spiteful to poor little Stella.'
'Where is she now?'
'Gone to the penny-club business as usual.'
'I hope this will be over before she comes back. I must speak to my little one, only first let me hear what you think about it. The Captain has been most straightforward with me. He explained that he never was a favourite at home, and his marriage was a case of extorted consent. His wife was never cordially treated, and he could not forget the slights she received. Neither party wanted the other, and he had got into his lonely yachting existence, when, unluckily for him, his elder brother's death has rendered him and his boy important. The widow lives with the old people, and he thinks they want Charlie to marry the daughter. They want him to spend his vacations with them, and he is always shirking.'