"But you must be polite to him."
"I'll try, mamma—if you wish it."
"I wish it, of course. You never know how useful such an acquaintance may be to you. Is he engaged to that girl?"
"I think not, mamma. She says not."
"That don't prove anything, though."
"Yes, it does, with her. Dolly Copley was always downright—not like the rest."
"Every girl thinks it is fair to fib about her lovers. However, I thought he looked at you, Christina, not exactly as if he were a bound man."
"He is too late," said the girl carelessly. "I am a bound woman."
"Well, be civil to him," said her mother. "You never know what people may do."
"I don't care, mamma. Mr. St. Leger's doings are of no importance to me."