'I want you,' he continued 'to give your sister my good wishes. Will you?'
'Yes, I will, Mr. Ackroyd.'
'Grail came and told me all about it. It wasn't pleasant to hear, but he's a good fellow and I'm not surprised at his luck. I haven't felt I wanted to quarrel with him, and I think better of myself for that. And yet it means a good deal to me—more than you think, I dare say.'
'You'll soon forget it, Mr. Ackroyd,' Lydia said, in a clear, steady voice.
'Well, you 'll see if I do. I'm one of the unlucky fellows that can never show what they feel. It all comes out in the wrong way. It doesn't matter much now.'
Lydia had a feeling that this was not wholly sincere. He seemed to take a pleasure in representing himself as luckless. Combined with what she had heard, it helped her to say:
'A man doesn't suffer much from these things. You'll soon be cheerful again. Good-bye, Mr. Ackroyd.'
She did not wait for anything more from him.