he included in Janie's "own people"?
Had he been told the news?

The delicate task! The Imp's temper was far too bad for delicacy; she
found a positive pleasure in outraging it. She took her letter, marched
into the smoking-room, and threw it to (not to say at) her uncle.

"Read that!" she said and strode off to the window to have a look at
Blent. The letter had succeeded, it seemed, in taking away from her life
all she wanted, and introducing into it all she did not.

"This is very serious," declared the Major solemnly, "very serious
indeed, Mina."

"Don't see how," snapped the Imp, presenting an unwavering back-view to
her uncle. "If they like to get married, why is it serious?"

"Pray be reasonable," he urged. "You must perceive that the situation I
have always contemplated----"

"Well, you can go on contemplating it, can't you, uncle? It won't do
much good, but still----"

"The situation, I say, has arisen." She heard him get up, walk to the
hearth-rug, and strike a match. Of course he was going to have a
cigarette! He would smoke it all through with exasperating slowness and
then arrive at an odious conclusion. Mina had not been married for
nothing; she knew men's ways. He justified her forecast; it was minutes
before he spoke again.

"The terms of this letter," he resumed at last, "fortify me in my
purpose. It is evident that Miss Iver is influenced--largely
influenced--by--er--the supposed position of--er--Mr Tristram."

"Of who?"

"Of the present possessor of Blent."

"If you want people to know who you mean, you'd better say Lord
Tristram."

"For the present, if you wish it. I say, she is----" Duplay's pompous
formality suddenly broke down. "She's taking him for his title, that's
all."

"Oh, if you choose to say things like that about your friends!"

"You know it's true. What becomes my duty then?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Only I hate people to talk about duty
when they're going to----" Well, one must stop somewhere in describing
one's relatives' conduct. The Imp stopped there. But the sentence really
lost nothing; Duplay could guess pretty accurately what she had been
going to say.

Fortunately, although he was very dependent on her help, he cared little
about her opinion. She neither would nor could judge his position
fairly; she would not perceive how he felt, how righteous was his anger,
how his friends were being cheated and he was being jockeyed out of his
chances by one and