"Curtail it. Shall we walk a little way over the common?"
He glanced at the windows of the house, crossed the terrace and descended the steps. De Rothan followed him, staring with a certain whimsical contempt at Durrell's back.
"Has the young squire been here again?"
"This very morning—at six o'clock."
"Youth is in a hurry!"
"I have put a bridle upon his eagerness. I sent him packing. And Nance knows."
"Knows what?"
"That young Benham is a reprobate, and a loose liver."
"The devil she does! You told her?"
"Certainly. I did not mean the friendship to develop."