"Is it anything, or is it nothing ?" He did not immediately answer her, but rose, too, and walked with her towards the gate.

As usual, he did not speak to her without considering whether what he was about to say was the sort of thing that he could say to her.
"I've been bothered," he said at length.

"Partly by work, and partly by family troubles.

Charles has been behaving like a fool.

He wants to go out to Canada as a farmer--" "Well, there's something to be said for that," said Mary; and they passed the gate, and walked slowly round the Fields again, discussing difficulties which, as a matter of fact, were more or less chronic in the Denham family, and only now brought forward to appease Mary's sympathy, which, however, soothed Ralph more than he was aware of.