"But not in the same way as he cares, Lucy."
Kitty's words sounded like a statement rather than a question, so they passed unanswered.
"It's all right, Kitty. It's all over, at last. He doesn't care a bit now, not a bit."
"Oh doesn't he! How can you be so idiotic? All over? I assure you it's only just begun."
Lucia turned her head away.
"Lucy—what are you going to do with him?"
Lucia smiled sadly. That was the question she had asked Horace ten years ago, making him responsible. And now the responsibility had been laid on her. "Kitty—did you notice how thin he is? He looks as if he'd just come through some awful illness. But I can't ask him about it."
"Rather not. You don't know whether he's had it, or whether he's going to have it."
"I wonder if you'd mind asking him to stay a week or two? It might help him to get strong."
"I doubt it."