'Then let me hear it at once.'
'That is not so easy done. In truth, my dear, this letter is not pleasant reading. Mrs. Tomkin-Jones informs me—and you—that Winefred has met her father.'
'I am not sorry for that.'
'Her father is vastly taken with her, and walks her out, and shows her the sights, and goes with her to shops and buys sundry pretty things that he gives to her.'
'That is as it should be.'
'If that were all, I should not be in such a fluster over it,' said Mrs. Jose, her pleasant face expressing concern.
'What is there more?'
'Her father has taken a pride in his child, and a liking to her, so that he will not part with her any more.'
Jane was silent. Shadows passed over her face, like those that darken the sea. She stood meditating, with her knitting-pin to her lips.