His face hardened.
"Very well, you shall know. I sent Mr. Benham away because he is not the man I would admit into my house."
"But why?"
"Nance, you have seen very little of the world of men. This young man is of bad repute. He is without honour, without morality."
Nance sat very straight in her chair, her hands moving restlessly in her lap.
"You mean to say, father——?"
"This Jasper Benham is a young man who lives a bad life. He is engaged to marry his cousin, a Miss Benham. That has not prevented him from dishonouring——"
Nance had gone very white. Her eyes were the eyes of one who recoils from something with sudden disgust.
"Father!"
"I tell you this for your own good, child. What do you know of Mr. Jasper Benham? Nothing save that he seemed grateful to you—because you were good to him, that he has a plausible tongue and an assumption of honesty."