'I do not know the lady my brother was with, but I've often thought I should like to meet her.'
'Perhaps your brother will introduce you.'
'No, I don't think he will. She has come to live at Branbury, and now people talk more then ever. They say that he is secretly married.'
'And you believe it?'
'I don't see why it shouldn't be true. My brother is a good fellow in many ways, but, like all other men, he is selfish. He is just the man who would keep his wife hidden away in a lonely little lodging rather than admit that he had made a mésalliance. What I don't understand is why she consents to be kept out of the way. Just fancy giving up this beautiful place, these woods and fields, these gardens, that house for, for—'
'I suppose this woman gives up these things because she loves your brother. Do you not understand self-sacrifice?'
'Oh yes, if I loved a man…. But I think a woman is silly to allow a man to cheat and fool her to the top of his bent.'
'What does it matter if she is happy?'
Ethel tossed her head. Then at the end of a long silence she said:
'Would you care to see the house?'
'No, thank you, Miss; I must be getting on. Goodbye.'