It was now nearly three weeks since Roger Barnes had appeared on the horizon.

General Hobson had twice postponed his departure for England, and was still "enduring hardness" in a Washington hotel.

Why his nephew should not be allowed to manage his courtship, if it was a courtship, for himself, Mrs.Verrier did not understand.

There was no love lost between herself and the General, and she made much mock of him in her talks with Daphne.

However, there he was; and she could only suppose that he took the situation seriously and felt bound to watch it in the interests of the young man's absent mother.
Was it serious?
Certainly Daphne had been committing herself a good deal.