My answer seemed to relieve her, though I could not tell what gave me the impression.
‘You are welcome to yours, and I will keep mine,’ she said. ‘I only wanted to explain Miss Brotherton’s condescension yesterday.’
‘I thought you were going to explain why you didn’t come to-day.’
‘That is only a re-action. I have no doubt she thinks she went too far yesterday.’
‘That is absurd. She was civil; that was all.’
‘In reading your thermometer, you must know its zero first,’ she replied sententiously. ‘Is the sword you call yours there still?’
‘Yes, and I call it mine still.’
‘Why don’t you take it, then? I should have carried it off long ago.’
‘To steal my own would be to prejudice my right,’ I returned. ‘But I have often thought of telling Sir Giles about it.’
‘Why don’t you, then?’