'What do you suggest, Birdie?'
The fondling name was not very appropriate, and had not been used of late; Carnaby hit upon it in the honeymoon days, when he said that his wife was like some little lovely bird, which he, great coarse fellow, had captured and almost feared to touch lest he should hurt it. Hugh had not much originality of thought, and less of expression.
'There are places, you know, where one lives very comfortably on very little,' said Sibyl.
'Yes; but it leads to nothing.'
'What would lead to anything?'
'Well, you see, I have capital, and some use ought to be made of it. Everybody nowadays goes in for some kind of business.'
She listened with interest, smiling, meditative.
'And a great many people come out of it—wishing they had done so before.'
'True,' said Carnaby; 'there's the difficulty. I had a letter from Dando this morning. He has got somebody to believe in his new smelting process—somebody in the City; talks of going out to Queensland shortly. Really—if I could be on the spot——'
He hesitated, timidly indicating his thoughts. Sibyl mused, and slowly shook her head.