"Your governor's married again. It happened yesterday. I thought perhaps you didn't know."
There was dead silence for an instant.
"No, I didn't know," said Frank. "Who's he married?"
"Somebody I never heard of. I wondered whether you knew her."
"What's her name?"
"Wait a second," said the other, plunging under his greatcoat to get at his waistcoat pocket. "I've got the paragraph here. I cut it out of the Morning Post. I only saw it half an hour ago. I was coming round to you this evening."
He produced a slip of printed paper. Frank stood still a moment, leaning against some area-railings—they were in the distinguished quarter of Victoria Park Road—and read the paragraph through. The clergyman watched him curiously. It seemed to him a very remarkable situation that he should be standing here in Victoria Park Road, giving information to a son as to his father's marriage. He wondered, but only secondarily, what effect it would have upon Frank.
Frank gave him the paper back without a tremor.
"Thanks very much," he said. "No; I didn't know."
They continued to walk.