Captain Fortescue did not answer.
"You don't like her?"
"No, I don't, but I really can hardly tell you why. Then you think I had better go up?"
"Yes, if he insists upon seeing you. Did it ever occur to you that he might have some special reason for wishing to see you, something that he wanted particularly to say to you or to ask you?"
"No. Has he, do you think?"
"I fancy so. I may be wrong, mind you, but I've a great idea that it is something more than mere affection that has made him so anxious for you to arrive. I have been in several times to-day, and each time he has asked if the Captain has come, and whether I thought he would be able to speak to the Captain when he did come."
"Well, I shall see when I go up," said Captain Fortescue. "I don't know in the least what it could be."
A knock at the door interrupted them.
"Come in," said the Captain.
A middle-aged woman entered. She was short in stature, with sharp features and a receding chin, and was heavily marked by smallpox.