“Never mind what it hints,” interrupted Miss Grison sharply. “If you call on me in London, and I feel that I can trust you, then I may speak out.”
“Anyone could trust Alan,” said Marie indignantly.
The visitor gave a thin-lipped smile. “You are quite right to defend him, my dear, and your defence is natural enough since Selina Millington told me that Mr. Fuller admires you. But he’s a man and all men are bad——”
“Except Alan, who is engaged to be married to me.”
“All men are bad,” repeated Miss Grison stolidly. “I only knew one good man, and he was my brother Baldwin.
“H’m!” murmured Alan, remembering what Sorley had said on the previous day.
If Miss Grison heard the ejaculation, and understood its purport, she gave no sign of such knowledge. “What does your Uncle Randolph say to your being engaged to Mr. Fuller?” she asked turning to Marie abruptly.
“He says nothing, because he knows nothing.”
“Then don’t let him know. He will ruin your happiness in life if he can, as he ruined mine. A hard, cruel man is your Uncle Randolph, my dear.”
Marie stared at this wholesale condemnation. “Do you know him well?”