The Colonel instinctively frowned still more at the mention of the obnoxious wife, and after balancing a fruit-knife on his fingers for a few seconds, with his eyes fixed as intently upon it as if the feat were a deeply interesting one, he said very shortly:
“You still intend to go to Norfolk? It’s a damp climate, an unhealthy climate—not one suitable to a lady born in India, I should think. Beastly dull, foggy place at all times. Why don’t you go to Scarborough?”
George could not remind him that it was he himself who had probably suggested the Millards’ invitation, and certainly done his utmost to persuade him to accept it. The knowledge that it was disapproval of his wife which had caused this sudden change in the Colonel’s views, made him suddenly stiff, constrained, and cold.
“I have promised my wife, Colonel; it is too late to change my plans and disappoint her.”
The Colonel glanced searchingly up at him from the corners of his eyes, and said almost deprecatingly:
“I see—of course not. I only meant to suggest that the quiet country life the Millards lead might bore her, and, the fact is, our place will not be as lively as usual this year. I shall have some unexpected expenses to meet. I’ve been warned of them, and they will not be long in coming.” Here he paused, gazing still on the table, and seeming not so much to watch as to listen for some sign of comprehension on George’s part. “And so,” he continued, at last raising his eyes, and speaking in his shortest, bitterest tone, “I shall have to retrench, and there will be no merrymaking at Willingham this year.”
“I am very sorry to hear it,” said George, puzzled by a swift conjecture that he was expected to make some more significant remark, and wondering what it ought to have been.
He was wishing he could withdraw from this awkward tête-à-tête, when, in a low distinct voice, the Colonel struck him into perplexity by the following question:
“How would you like to exchange into the ——th, and go over to Ireland?”
“Not at all,” answered George, just as low, and very promptly.