There was, however, no ignoring the circumstance that Ella was elated at his departure; some of her guests even went so far as to suggest that she had accelerated his departure, giving him to understand that, however a young woman might throw herself at his head,—­and didn’t Phyllis just throw herself at his head?—­he had no right to give her all his attention; a hostess has a right to claim some of his spare moments.

It was not until Tuesday, when Mr. Linton had left for London, and Phyllis was alone with Ella for an hour before lunch, that the latter endeavored to find out what she thought of Herbert Courtland.

“Has Stephen been speaking to you about George Holland?” she inquired.  She thought that the best way to lead Phyllis to talk about Herbert would be by beginning to talk about George Holland.

“Oh, yes!” said Phyllis.  “He appears to be greatly interested in Mr. Holland.  He thinks that he must leave the Church.”

“That would be very sad,” remarked Ella.  “It would seem very like persecution, would it not?”

“I cannot see that there would be any injustice in the matter,” said Phyllis.  “If a man chooses to write such things as he has written, he must take the consequences.  I, for my part, intend keeping away from the church as long as Mr. Holland remains in the pulpit.”

She did not think it necessary to refer to the remarks made by Mr. Holland upon the occasion of his last visit to her, though these words might not be without interest to Ella.

“But it seems hard, doesn’t it, to deprive a man of his profession simply because he holds certain views on what is, after all, an abstract subject—­the patriarchs, or the prophets and things of that sort?” said Ella.

“Lady Earlscourt said that he should be forgiven, because he really didn’t hold the views which he had preached,” laughed Phyllis.  “She also said that he should not be regarded as an atheist, because he believed not only in one God, but in two.”

“I wonder how many Herbert Courtland believes in,” said Ella.  “You told me he talked to you on that topic the first night you met.  Was it about God you and he have been talking lately?”

“I’m afraid it was not.”

“Oh! you found a more interesting topic, and one of more importance to two people in the bloom of youth?”

“Ella!”

“Oh, my dear, I don’t mean anything dreadful.  Only, you know as well as I do that a healthy man and a healthy woman will never talk, when they are alone together, about God, when they can talk about each other.  I think Herbert Courtland is about the healthiest man I know, and I’m sure that you are the healthiest girl.  You and he are most sympathetic companions.  You are not at all stupidly coy, my sweet maiden.”

“I like Mr. Courtland, and why should I be coy?”

“Why, indeed?  I wonder what the people who have just left us will say about it?”