to pat it, abounding in the assurance that they would
still provide for it. They had, however, to-night,
another matter in hand; which proved to be pres
ently, on the girl's part, in respect to her hour of
Chelsea, the revelation that Mrs. Condrip, taking a
few minutes when Kate was away with one of the
children, in bed upstairs for some small complaint,
had suddenly, without its being in the least " led up
to," broken ground on the subject of Mr. Densher,
mentioned him with impatience as a person in love
with her sister. " She wished me, if I cared for
Kate, to know," Milly said " for it would be quite
too dreadful, and one might do something."

Susie wondered. " Prevent anything coming of
it? That's easily said. Do what?"

Milly had a dim smile. " I think that what she
would like is that I should come a good deal to see
her about it."

"And doesn't she suppose you ve anything else
to do?"

The girl had by this time clearly made it out.
"Nothing but to admire and make much of her sis
ter whom she doesn t, however, herself in the least
understand and give up one's time, and everything
else, to it." It struck the elder friend that she spoke
with an almost unprecedented approach to sharp
ness; as if Mrs. Condrip had been rather specially
disconcerting. Never yet so much as just of late
had Mrs. Stringham seen her companion as exalted,
and by the very play of something within, into a

[[213]]

p212 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p213w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p214

v?