speak or forever hold his peace. For a time I did hold my
peace, but it was only because Rufus Blight evinced such a lively
interest in my affairs that I had no opportunity to speak of those
matters which touched him so intimately.

"Well, we certainly shall hunt you up in London in September," he said.
"We shall be over in September. The wedding is to be in July at
Newport. We have taken a house there, or rather Mrs. Bannister has for
us." He saw that I could not restrain a smile at the mention of Mrs.
Bannister, and he laughed heartily. "I don't know how we should get
along without Mrs. Bannister. You see, David, all I know anything
about is the steel trade, and being out of that I have to have a
general manager for this social business. She certainly does manage.
Why, if it wasn't for her I doubt if we could arrange a wedding.
Indeed, I sometimes even doubt if there would be an engagement."

This same doubt had been tenaciously present in my own mind for some
days, and much as I should have liked to express it with heat and to
join to it my opinion of the masterful woman's manoeuvres, I simply
laughed formally and said, "Indeed!"

"I can talk to you confidentially, David," Rufus Blight went on,
leaning toward me with his cigar poised in the air. "It is good to
have an old friend to whom you can unburden your mind, and it has been
on my mind that Mrs. Bannister has had too large a finger in this
matrimonial pie--not, of course, that I am not pleased. I am getting
old, and it is a relief to think of Penelope settled in life with a
thoroughly respectable, steady young man like Talcott; but, do you
know, I suspect sometimes that Mrs. Bannister had more to do with
Penelope making up her mind than is altogether wise? She has talked
about him continually, and between his coming to the house continually
and Mrs. Bannister talking of him continually, Penelope didn't have a
fair chance."

Rufus Blight smoked thoughtfully, and I remarked that I had no doubt
that Penelope knew her own mind.

"Oh, yes," he returned. "Understand that I have nothing whatever
against Talcott. She might fare far worse. He is unapproachable as
far as character goes, but sometimes he seems to me rather dull. I
suppose that is because he doesn't do anything, and I wonder how long
Penelope will be satisfied with a man who doesn't do anything but what
Mrs. Bannister calls 'go everywhere.' Will she not soon weary of going
everywhere?