"Yes; I saw him."

"Well!"

"I must say that he was not very civil to me, and that I suppose I have
seen all of him that I shall see."

"It is only his manner," said her ladyship.

"An unfortunate manner, surely."

"Poor Brotherton!"

Then the Canon said a word. "Of course no one wants to trouble him. I
can speak at least for myself. I do not,--certainly. I have requested
her ladyship to ask him whether he would wish me to call or not. If he
says that he does, I shall expect him to receive me cordially. If he
does not--there's an end of it."

"I hope you won't all of you turn against him," said the Marchioness.

"Turn against him!" repeated the Dean. "I do not suppose that there is
any one who would not be both kind and courteous to him, if he would
accept kindness and courtesy. It grieves me to make you unhappy,
Marchioness, but I am bound to let you know that he treated me very
badly." From that moment the Marchioness made up her mind that the Dean
was no friend of the family, and that he was, after all, vulgar and
disagreeable. She undertook, however, to enquire from her son on next
Sunday whether he would wish to be called upon by his brother-in-law,
the Canon.

On the following day Lady Alice went alone to Manor Cross,--being the
first lady who had gone to the door since the new arrivals,--and asked
for Lady Brotherton. The courier came to the door and said "not at
home," in a foreign accent, just as the words might have been said to
any chance caller in London. Then Lady Alice asked the man to tell her
brother that she was there. "Not at home, miladi," said the man, in the
same tone. At that moment Mrs. Toff came running through the long hall
to the carriage door. The house was built round a quadrangle, and all
the ground floor of the front and of one of the sides consisted of
halls, passages, and a billiard-room. Mrs. Toff must have been watching
very closely or she could hardly have known that Lady Alice was there.
She came out and stood beside the carriage, and leaning in, whispered
her fears and unhappinesses. "Oh! my lady, I'm afraid it's very bad. I
haven't set eyes on the--the--his wife, my lady, yet; nor the little
boy."

"Are they in now, Mrs. Toff?"

"Of course they're in. They never go out. He goes about all the
afternoon in a dressing-gown, smoking bits of paper, and she lies in
bed or gets up and doesn't do,--nothing at all, as far as I can see,
Lady Alice. But as for being in, of cou