‘Thank you. But that sounds too much like good-bye. I trust we are to be friends, for all that?’
‘Indeed, I hope we may be.’
They shook hands, and he went towards the door. But before opening it, he asked:
‘Did you read that thing of mine in The Current?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘It wasn’t bad, I think?’
‘It seemed to me very clever.’
‘Clever—yes, that’s the word. It had a success, too. I have as good a thing half done for the April number, but I’ve felt too heavy-hearted to go on with it. The girls shall let you know when they are in town.’
Marian followed him into the passage, and watched him as he opened the front door. When it had closed, she went back into the study for a few minutes before rejoining her mother.