"Conciliation!" echoed Madame, with a touch of scorn.
"Jack," Lord Otford began explaining, "is very dear to me."
"Marjolaine is very dear to me," said Madame, defiantly.
Lord Otford bowed. "Precisely. I have been considering. Are we justified in keeping these two young people apart?"
Madame looked at him in amazement. "Do you say that?"
"I do," he smilingly affirmed. "Marjolaine, being her mother's daughter, must be a charming gel."
Madame waved the compliment aside. He went on.
"And although Jack is my son, he is a thoroughly good fellow."
"But he is contracted to marry—" Madame interrupted.
"That is all upset," said Lord Otford; and the curious thing was that he did not seem at all put out. "Carrie Thring has taken the bit between her teeth and eloped with the curate."