He had been constantly with her alone, sitting for hours in that ugly green drawing-room, but he had never touched the subject.

He had told her much of Switzerland, which she had never yet seen but which he knew well.

He had told her much of his garden and house, whither she had once gone with her father, whilst paying a visit nominally to the colleges at Cambridge.

And he had talked of various matters, matters bearing in no immediate way upon his own or her affairs; for Mr Grey was a man who knew well how to make words pleasant; but previous to this last moment he had said nothing on that subject on which he was so intent.
"Well, Alice," he said, when the last hour had come, "and about that question of home affairs ?" "Let us finish off the foreign affairs first." "We have finished them; haven't we ?" "Finished them! why we haven't started yet." "No; you haven't started.

But we've had the discussion.