positive suggestion of sincerity; he affected her as
now saying something that he felt; and she was the
more struck with it as she was still conscious of the
failure even of curiosity he had just shown in respect
to herself. She had meant something though in
deed for herself almost only in speaking of their
friend's natural pity; it had been a note, doubtless, of
questionable taste, but it had quavered out in spite of
her; and he had not so much as cared to inquire
"Why natural? " Not that it wasn't really much
better for her that he shouldn t: explanations would
in truth have taken her much too far. Only she now
perceived that, in comparison, her word about this
other person really " drew " him; and there were
things in that, probably, many things, as to which
she would learn more and which glimmered there
already as part and parcel of that larger " real " with
which, in her new situation, she was to be beguiled.
It was in fact at the very moment, this element, not
absent from what Lord Mark was further saying.
"So you re wrong, you see, as to our knowing all
about each other. There are cases where we break
down. I at any rate give her up up, that is, to you.
You must do her for me tell me, I mean, when you
know more. You ll notice," he pleasantly wound
up, " that I ve confidence in you."

"Why shouldn't you have? " Milly asked, observ
ing in this, as she thought, a fine, though, for such
a man, a surprisingly artless, fatuity. It was as if
there might have been a question of her falsifying

[[183]]

p182 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p183w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p184

v?