He knew that he would not know how not to be stern and hard.
But he must find out the history of it all.

No doubt the man had been his son's friend, and had joined his party in Italy at his son's instance.

But yet he had come to entertain an idea that Mrs.Finn had been the great promoter of the sin, and he thought that Tregear had told him that that lady had been concerned with the matter from the beginning.

In all this there was a craving in his heart to lessen the amount of culpable responsibility which might seem to attach itself to the wife he had lost.
He reached Matching about eight, and ordered his dinner to be brought to him in his own study.

When Lady Mary came to welcome him, he kissed her forehead and bade her come to him after his dinner.