"What next, I wonder? You'll do nothing of the kind, my dear, not if I know it you won't. And as I'm in rather a hurry, perhaps you'll go and do what you said you would."
Mr Stacey put to Miss Arnott a question.
"What was it you said that you would do for this lady?"
Again the lady showed signs of heat.
"I never saw the equal of you for meddling. Don't you go poking your nose into other people's affairs, or you'll be sorry. If you take my advice, my dear, you won't tell him a single thing. I sha'n't, if you won't, you may trust me for that. You'll keep your own business to yourself, especially when it's business of such a very particular kind--interfering old party!"
"If you take my advice, Miss Arnott, and I think you have reason to know that in general my advice is to be trusted, you will tell me in the fewest, and also in the plainest, possible words what this person wants with you. It is evidently something of which she is ashamed, or she would not be so anxious for concealment."
"Don't you call me a person, because I won't have it; and don't you interfere in what's my business, because I won't have that either." The indignant Mrs Darcy Sutherland rose to her feet. "Now, look here, and don't let there be any mistake about it, I'm not going to have this impudent old man humbugging about with me, so don't let anyone think it. So you'll please to understand, Miss Arnott, that if you're going to get what you promised to get, you'd better be quick about it, because I've had about as much as I care to put up with. I'm not going to let any man trample on me, I don't care who he is, especially when I don't know him from Adam."
"Surely there can be no objection to my putting a simple question. What is it you promised to get for this--lady about which she betrays so much anxiety?"
Miss Arnott replied.
"If you don't mind, I'd rather not have any bother. I've had some trouble already."