I had come to that conclusion before,« said Grandcourt, with contemptuous
irony.
    »Yes, but I hardly think you know what her reasons were.«
    »You do, apparently,« said Grandcourt, not betraying by so much as an
eyelash that he cared for the reasons.
    »Yes, and you had better know too, that you may judge of the influence you
have over her if she swallows her reasons and accepts you. For my own part, I
would take odds against it. She saw Lydia in Cardell Chase and heard the whole
story.«
    Grandcourt made no immediate answer, and only went on smoking. He was so
long before he spoke, that Lush moved about and looked out of the windows,
unwilling to go away without seeing some effect of his daring move. He had
expected that Grandcourt would tax him with having contrived the affair, since
Mrs. Glasher was then living at Gadsmere a hundred miles off, and he was
prepared to admit the fact: what he cared about was that Grandcourt should be
staggered by the sense that his intended advances must be made to a girl who had
that knowledge in her mind and had been scared by it. At length Grandcourt,
seeing Lush turn towards him, looked at him again and said, contemptuously,
»What follows?«
    Here certainly was a »mate« in answer to Lush's »check;« and though his
exasperation with Grandcourt was perhaps stronger than it had ever been before,
it would have been mere idiocy to act as if any further move could be useful. He
gave a slight shrug with one shoulder, and was going to walk away, when
Grandcourt, turning on his seat towards the table, said, as quietly as if
nothing had occurred, »Oblige me by pushing that pen and paper here, will you?«
    No thunderous, bullying superior could have exercised the imperious spell
that Grandcourt did. Why, instead of being obeyed, he had never been told to go
to a warmer place, was perhaps a mystery to several who found themselves obeying
him. The pen and paper were pushed to him, and as he took them he said, »Just
wait for this letter.«
    He scrawled with ease, and the brief note was quickly addressed. »Let
Hutchins go with it at once, will you?« said Grandcourt, pushing the letter away
from him.
    As Lush had expected, it was addressed to Miss Harleth, Offendene. When his
irritation had cooled down he was glad there had been no explosive quarrel; but
he felt sure that there was a
