“I hope to be in woods again one day.”
“Really?”
Somewhat to her surprise, Fenwick came to her assistance.
“As she has nothing of that sort here on which to expend her energies, she is going to take up the moral improvement of the British soldier instead. I hear her asking very searching questions on the subject.”
His tone was light but not sarcastic, and Claudia turned and smiled at him.
“That’s not fair,” she said. “I only asked questions because I know absolutely nothing.”
“I should ask questions too, if the answers weren’t so unsatisfactory,” said Miss Arbuthnot, taking the chair Fenwick had left. “Don’t you find that people always know either too much or too little? But of course at this point it is for Captain Fenwick to answer any questions you may be pleased to put.”
The girl, who was shy of open allusions to her position, was annoyed by Miss Arbuthnot’s manner. At Thornbury she had almost liked her, and to Thornbury she returned, ignoring the last remark.
“Can you tell me anything about Mr Hilton? I hope he is better?”
“I suppose so, but I don’t know why you should hope it. Life can’t give him much pleasure, and he manages to make it a burden for everybody else, especially for Harry.”