“Why are you so anxious that Rosamund should know Mrs. Clarke?”
“Well, didn’t Mrs. Clarke ages ago express a wish to know Rosamund if the case went in her favor?”
“Oh, I—yes, I fancy she did. But she probably meant nothing by it, and has forgotten it.”
“I doubt that. A woman who has gone through Mrs. Clarke’s ordeal is generally hypersensitive afterwards.”
“But she’s come out splendidly. Everybody believes in her. She’s got her child. What more can she want?”
“As she’s such a great friend of ours I think it must seem very odd to her not knowing Rosamund, especially as she’s good friends with you. D’you mind if we ask Rosamund to meet her again?”
“You’ve done it once. I should leave things alone. Mind, Rosamund has never told me she doesn’t want to know Mrs. Clarke.”
“That may be another example of her goodness of heart,” said Daventry. “Rosamund seldom or never speaks against people. I’ll tell you the simple truth, Dion. As I helped to defend Mrs. Clarke, and as we won and she was proved to be an innocent woman, and as I believe in her and admire her very much, I’m sensitive for her. Perhaps it’s very absurd.”
“I think it’s very chivalrous.”
“Oh—rot! But there it is. And so I hate to see a relation of my own—I count Rosamund as a relation now—standing out against her.”