“Don’t you ever come to town?” he asked.
“We go to Edinburgh occasionally,” she replied with malice, knowing that he meant London.
He set her right.
“No; my father hates London, and mother never goes away without him.”
“What a pity! But do you never visit friends in town?”
“Yes; my sister and I have spent one or two seasons in Park Lane, with some cousins.”
“Why don’t you come this next season? You ought to hear some good music.”
The tête-a-tête was interrupted by the Professor. Temperley looked annoyed. It struck Hadria that Professor Fortescue had a very sad expression when he was not speaking. He seemed to her lonely, and in need of the sort of comfort that he brought so liberally to others.
Although he had talked to Hadria about a thousand topics in which they were both interested, there had been nothing personal in their conversation. He was disposed, at times, to treat her in a spirit of affectionate banter.
“To think that I should ever have dared to offer this young lady acidulated drops!” he exclaimed on one occasion, when Hadria was looking flushed and perturbed.