Ulric threw himself sullenly down on the bench.
"I am not going to be taught what I should do or leave undone, least of all by Martha."
"Well, well," said his father quietly, "she is very sure not to do anything to vex you."
"Why should not she vex me as well as any one else?"
The Manager looked at his son and shrugged his shoulders.
"Why, boy, have you no eyes in your head, or will you not see it? It is true, you never did care about the girls, and, after all, it is no wonder if you understand nothing about them."
"What is there for me to understand?" asked Ulric, growing attentive.
His father took his pipe out of his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke slowly into the air.
"That Martha cares for you," he answered laconically.
"Martha? For me?"