She made him sit down, and then she sat by his side.
'I'm very glad you came to-day. I wanted to talk to you. Will you be very angry if I say something to you?'
'I don't think so,' he smiled.
'I want to speak to you about Lucy.'
He drew himself suddenly together, and the expansion of his mood disappeared. He was once more the cold, reserved man of their habitual intercourse.
'I'd rather you didn't,' he said briefly.
But Julia was not to be so easily put off.
'What would you do if she came here to-day?' she asked.
He turned round and looked at her sharply, then answered with great deliberation.
'I have always lived in polite society. I should never dream of outraging its conventions. If Lucy happened to come, you may be sure that I should be scrupulously polite.'