Things must, indeed, be in a bad way if his father drank absinthe at half-past ten in the morning.
However, he hid his disapproval, and sitting down on another uncomfortable chair, he said gently, "What does it mean when a lady is compromised, sir ?" "It means that some accident or other has given malignant fools a chance of gossipping about her," said Sir Tancred in an unamiable tone.
"And the man has to marry her ?" "Of course he has," snapped Sir Tancred.
"Ah!" said Tinker with supreme thoughtful satisfaction.
His father looked at him for a good minute with considerable suspicion, wondering what new mischief he was hatching.

But Tinker looked like a guileless seraph pondering the innocent joys of the Islands of the Blessed, to a degree which made such a suspicion a very shameful thing indeed.

Partly reassured, Sir Tancred returned to his brooding: he was angry with himself because he felt helpless in an _impasse_.

On the one hand, he could not bring himself to fly from Dorothy; on the other, he could not bring himself to abate his pride, and ask her to marry him.

She was so rich; Septimus Rainer had talked of settling five million dollars on her.