“Rather uncommon,” said Elizabeth.

“Is Winthrop Landholm your friend?” said Rose dryly.

“Yes!  The best friend I’ve got.  I’d do anything in the world for that fellow.  He deserves it.”

“Mr. Satterthwaite,” said Elizabeth, “that bread and butter isn’t so good as these biscuits —­ try one.”

“He don’t deserve it from everybody!” said Rose, as Mr. Satterthwaite gratefully took a biscuit.

“Why not?”

“He don’t deserve it from me.  I’ve known him to do unhandsome things.  Mean!”

“Winthrop Landholm! —­ My dear Mrs. Haye, you are under some misapprehension.  I’ll stake my reputation he never did an unhandsome or a mean thing.  He couldn’t.”

“He did,” said Rose.

“Will you favour me with the particulars you have heard?”

“I haven’t heard,” said Rose, —­ “I know.”

“You have heard!” said Elizabeth sternly, —­ “and only heard.  You forget.  You may not have understood anything right.”

The gentleman looked in a little astonishment from the bright-coloured cheeks of one lady to the cloudy brow of the other; but as neither added anything further, he took up the matter.

“I am almost certain Miss Elizabeth is right.  I am sure Mr. Landholm would not do what you suspect him of.  He could not do it.”

“He is mortal, I suppose,” said Rose sourly, “and so he would do what other mortals do.”

“He is better than some other mortals,” said Mr. Satterthwaite.  “I am not a religious man myself; but if anything would make me believe in it, it would be that man.”

“Don’t you ‘believe in it,’ Mr. Satterthwaite?” asked Elizabeth.

“In a sort of way, yes, I do; —­ I suppose it’s a thing one must come to at last.”

“If you want to come to it at last, I should think you would at first,” said Elizabeth, “I would.  I shouldn’t think it was a very safe way to put it off.”

Mr. Satterthwaite mused over his tea and made no answer; clearly the conversation had got upon the wrong tack.

“Are you going to be in court to-morrow again, Mr. Satterthwaite?” asked the lady of the house.

“I don’t know —­ not for my own affairs —­ I don’t know but I shall go in to hear Winthrop’s cause come on against Mr. Ryle.”

“I never was in court in my life,” said Elizabeth.

“Suppose you go, Miss Elizabeth —­ If you’ll allow me to have the honour of taking care of you, I shall be very happy.  There’ll be something to hear, between Chancellor Justice and my friend Winthrop and Mr. Brick.”

“Is Mr. Brick going to speak to-morrow?” said Rose.

“Yes —­ he is on the other side.”

“Let’s go, Lizzie,” said her cousin.  “Will you take me too, Mr. Brick? —­ Mr. Satterthwaite, I mean.”

Mr. Satterthwaite declared himself honoured, prospectively; Elizabeth put no objection of her own in the way; and the scheme was agreed on.