It was the name by which he addressed Miss Bride in the old days, and it seemed good to him to preserve their former relations as far as possible; for Constance, though a strange sort of girl, nowadays decidedly cold and dry, undeniably had brains, and might still be capable of appreciating him.

"Yesterday I had to come back to town in a hurry, owing to the receipt of some disagreeable news, so of necessity I postponed my visit to Hollingford.

It occurs to me that I had better ask whether you were serious in your suggestion that Lady Ogram might be glad to make my acquaintance.

I know nothing whatever about her, except what you told me on our walk to the station, so cannot be sure whether she is likely to take any real interest in my ideas.

Our time together was too short for me to explain my stand-point; perhaps I had better say a word or two about it now.