So the subject of conversation was changed; but for the rest of the day Joanna murmured to herself at intervals, when nobody was listening: "Old Shelford is a beast!"
When the minister and Joanna had gone for their usual walk, Paul sat in the dining-room with his mother and her knitting, and played with her ball of wool, just as he had done when he was a little boy.
"My dear, where is Isabel Carnaby now?" asked Mrs. Seaton suddenly.
Paul winced, but he answered quietly: "She is still in town, and is to be married to Lord Wrexham, I believe, at the end of this season".
"I was very fond of Isabel."
"I know you were, mother; so was I."
"What sort of a man is Lord Wrexham?"
"He is the best type of an English gentleman."
"Then you think he will make Isabel happy?" said Mrs. Seaton, with a sigh of relief.
"I did not say that," replied Paul, dropping the ball of wool on the floor, and diving after it.