“How?” said Daireen, with a little flush and an anxious movement of her eyes. “How do you mean he has disappointed you?”
“He is not going to leave us at St. Helena, Daireen; he is coming on with us to the Cape.”
With sorrow and dismay Mrs. Crawford noticed Daireen's face undergo a change from anxiety to pleasure; nor did she allow the little flush that came to the girl's forehead to escape her observation. These changes of countenance were almost terrifying to the lady. “It is the first time I have had my confidence in him shaken,” she added. “In spite of what Mr. Harwood said of him I had not the least suspicion of this Mr. Markham, but now——”
“What did! Mr. Harwood say of him?” asked Daireen, with a touch of scorn in her voice.
“You need not get angry, Daireen, my child,” replied Mrs. Crawford.
“Angry, Mrs. Crawford? How could you fancy I was angry? Only what right had this Mr. Harwood to say anything about Mr. Markham? Perhaps Mr. Glaston was saying something too. I thought that as Mr. Markham was a stranger every one here would treat him with consideration, and yet, you see——”
“Good gracious, Daireen, what can you possibly mean?” cried Mrs. Crawford. “Not a soul has ever treated Mr. Markham except in good taste from the day he came aboard this vessel. Of course young men will talk, especially young newspaper men, and more especially young Dominant. Trumpeter men. For myself, you saw how readily I admitted Mr. Markham into our set, though you will allow that, all things considered, I need not have done so at all.”
“He was a stranger,” said Daireen.
“But he is not therefore an angel unawares, my dear,” said Mrs. Crawford, smiling as she patted the girl's hand in token of amity. “So long as he meant, to be a stranger of course we were justified in making him as pleasant as possible; but now, you see, he is not going to be a stranger. But why should we talk upon so unprofitable a subject? Tell me all the rest that you have been writing about.”
Daireen made an attempt to recollect what were the topics of her letters, but she was not very successful in recalling them.