"Mercy, father! no," said Dolly, recoiling.
"I don't believe he would be hard to manage. He's desperately in love with you, Dolly."
"Father, I don't want to manage. And I don't think Lawrence is in any danger. It isn't in him to be desperate about anything."
"So much the better, I think," said her father. "What if he should want to go with us to Venice?"
"Don't let him! We do not want him."
"He would be useful, I daresay. And I should have to take my secretary, Dolly."
"Take that other fellow, the one I saw in your office to-day."
"What, Babbage? He's a raw article, Dolly, very raw. I put him there to answer questions. The fellow was in a forlorn state here with nothing to do."
They calmed down after a while; and the rest of the evening was largely spent in considering plans and details of their projected movements. It was agreed that Dolly should rejoin Mrs. Jersey the next day, to be ready to return to Brierley with her; that then all preparations should be made for a speedy start to the Continent. Father and daughter talked themselves into ordinary composure, and when they had bid each other good night, Dolly went to rest with a feeling of some hopefulness.