 well. They did
it very quickly, and in a far more workmanlike way than I should have thought
possible.«
    »No doubt they share your own talent.«
    »Perhaps so. Of course I know that I have talent of a kind, though I don't
rate it very high. We shall have to see whether they can do anything more than
mere bookseller's work; they are both very young, you know. I think they may be
able to write something that'll do for The English Girl, and no doubt I can hit
upon a second idea that will appeal to Jolly and Monk. At all events they'll
have books within reach, and better opportunities every way than at Finden.«
    »How do their friends in the country think of it?«
    »Very dubiously; but then what else was to be expected? Of course, the
respectable and intelligible path marked out for both of them points to a
lifetime of governessing. But the girls have no relish for that; they'd rather
do almost anything. We talked over all the aspects of the situation seriously
enough - it is desperately serious, no doubt of that. I told them fairly all the
hardships they would have to face - described the typical London lodgings, and
so on. Still, there's an adventurous vein in them, and they decided for the
risk. If it came to the worst I suppose they could still find governess work.«
    »Let us hope better things.«
    »Yes. But now, I should have felt far more reluctant to let them come here
in this way hadn't it been that they regard you as a friend. To-morrow morning
you will probably hear from one or both of them. Perhaps it would have been
better if I had left them to tell you all this, but I felt I should like to see
you and - put it in my own way. I think you'll understand this feeling, Miss
Yule. I wanted, in fact, to hear from yourself that you would be a friend to the
poor girls.«
    »Oh, you already know that! I shall be so very glad to see them often.«
    Marian's voice lent itself very naturally and sweetly to the expression of
warm feeling. Emphasis was not her habit; it only needed that she should put off
her ordinary reserve, utter quietly the emotional thought which so seldom might
declare itself, and her tones had an exquisite womanliness.
    Jasper looked full into her face.
    »In that case they won
