"They went out together."
"How long was my brother out with her?"
"He hasn't come back; he has gone for the day—told me to take charge of the office."
"You mean they went out together like that and you did not follow them to see where they went?"
"Yes."
"Oh, you idiot!"
"How could I, Miss Patience?"
"How could you—yes, that's just it. How could you, when you had such a chance, let it slip through your fingers?"
"But the office?"
"The office—why, you have left the office to come round here. If you could leave it to come here, surely you could have left it for a more important purpose. Well, you may take this from me: soon there will be no office to leave. It's quite possible that if Mr James makes a fool of himself, he'll leave business and do what he's always threatening to do—go in for farming. When a man once begins making a fool of himself, he goes on doing so, the appetite comes with eating. Well, you had better go back to the office and remember this for your own sake, for my sake, for Mr James' sake, keep your eyes open. If you get another chance, follow them."