"Oh yes, but he wasn't uneasy; he said she was like a bad penny, sure to turn up all right."
"Good God!"
"What on earth!—why, there was no harm. Leavesley is the best of good fellows, he looked after her like a grandmother; he worships the very ground she walks on, and I'd pity the man who would as much as look twice at Fanny if he was with her."
"Um—Mr Leavesley, as you call him——"
"I don't call him, he calls himself."
"Well, Mr Leavesley may be all right in his way, but I should not care to see a sister of mine worshipped by one of these sort of people. Organ-grinders and out-of-elbow artists may be delightful company amidst their own set, but I confess I am not accustomed to them——"
"That's just your insular prejudice—seems to me I've heard that expression before, but it will do—Leavesley isn't an organ-grinder. I can't stand loafers myself, and if a man can't keep up with the procession, he'd better hang himself; but Leavesley isn't a loafer, and he'll be at the top of the procession yet, leading the elephant. Oh, he paints divinely!"
"Miss Lambert, you say, is in love with him?"
"I didn't—I fancy she had a weakness; but maybe it's only a fancy."