'I am not a child,' said Captain Pendle, sullenly.
'You are a man of the world,' replied his father, skilfully, 'and as such must see that I am speaking for your own good. I ask merely for delay, so that the truth may be known before you engage yourself irrevocably to this young lady.'
'I look upon my engagement as irrevocable! I have asked Mab to be my wife, I have given her a ring, I have won her heart; I should be a mean hound,' cried George, lashing himself into a rage, 'if I gave her up for the lying gossip of an old she-devil like Mrs Pansey.'
'Your language is not decorous, sir.'
'I—I beg your pardon, father, but don't be too hard on me.'
'Your own good sense should tell you that I am not hard on you.'
'Indeed,' put in Gabriel, 'I think that my father has reason on his side, George.'
'You are not in love,' growled the captain, unconvinced.
A pale smile flitted over Gabriel's lips, not unnoticed by the bishop, but as he purposed speaking to him later, he made no remark on it at the moment.
'What do you wish me to do, sir?' asked George, after a pause.