sign; to which Milly replied with readiness that her
ability, though evident, would be none the less quite
wasted, inasmuch as the gentleman would, to a cer
tainty, be still in America. He had a great deal to
do there which he would scarce have begun; and
in fact she might very well not have thought of
London at all if she hadn't been sure he wasn't yet
near coming back. It was perceptible to her com
panion that the moment our young woman had so
far committed herself she had a sense of having
overstepped; which was not quite patched up by
her saying the next minute, possibly with a certain
failure of presence of mind, that the last thing she
desired was the air of running after him. Mrs.
Stringham wondered privately what question there
could be of any such appearance the danger of
which thus suddenly came up; but she said, for trie
time, nothing of it she only said other things: one
of which was, for instance, that if Mr. Densher was
away he was away, and that this was the end of it;
also that of course they must be discreet at any
price. But what was the measure of discretion,
and how was one to be sure? So it was that, as
they sat there, she produced her own case: she had
a possible tie with London, which she desired as
little to disown as she might wish to risk presuming
on it. She treated her companion, in short, for
their evening's end, to the story of Maud Manning-
ham, the odd but interesting English girl who had
formed her special affinity in the old days at the

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p153 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p154w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p155

v?