‘Has anything happened?’ he asked in an offhand way.
‘I am distressed, more than I can tell you,’ began his mother-in-law. ‘Surely you did not mean what you said about the money—’
‘Mother!’ came from Adela’s lips, but she checked herself.
Mutimer thrust his hands into his pockets and stood smiling.
‘Yes, I meant it.’
‘But, pray, what are you and Adela going to live upon?’
‘I don’t think we shall have any difficulty.’
‘But surely one must more than think in a matter such as this. You mustn’t mind me speaking plainly, Richard. Adela is my only daughter, and the thought of her undergoing needless hardships is so dreadful to me that I really must speak. I have a plan, and I am sure you will see that it is the very best for all of us. Allow Adela to remain with me for a little while, just till you have—have made things straight. It certainly would ease your mind. She is so very welcome to a share of our home. You would feel less hampered. I am sure you will consent to this.’
Mutimer’s smile died away. He avoided Mrs. Waltham’s face, and let his eyes pass in a cold gaze from Letty, who almost shrank, to Adela, who stood with an air of patience.
‘What do you say to this?’ he asked of his wife, in a tone civil indeed, but very far from cordial.