His shameful pride could not brook the idea that, where he was a guest, his wife was entertained by one of the domestics! "How dare you be guilty of such a disgraceful thing!" he cried.
"Oh, don't, Tom--dear Tom!" pleaded Letty in terror.

"It was you I wanted to see--not the great people, Tom! I don't care if I never see one of them again." "Why should you ever see one of them again, I should like to know! What are they to you, or you to them ?" "But you know I was asked to go, Tom!" "You're not such a fool as to fancy they cared about you! Everybody knows they are the most heartless set of people in the world!" "Then why do you go, Tom ?" said Letty, innocently.
"That's quite another thing! A man has to cultivate connections his wife need not know anything about.

It is one of the necessities laid on my position." Letty supposed it all truer than it was either intelligible or pleasant, and said no more, but let poor, self-abused, fine-fellow Tom scold and argue and reason away till he was tired.

She was not sullen, but bewildered and worn out.

He got up, and left her without a word.
Even at the risk of hurt to his dignity, of which there was no danger from the presence of his sweet, modest little wife in the best of company, it had been well for Tom to have allowed Letty the pleasure within her reach; for that night Sepia's artillery played on him ruthlessly.