Crawley should tend to bring about her marriage with his son.  By this time he hated the very name of Crawley.  He hated it the more because in hating it he had to put himself for the time on the same side with Mrs Proudie.  But for all that he would not condescend to any unworthy mode of fighting.  He thought it wrong that the young lady should be invited to Framley Parsonage at this moment, and he said so to the person who had, as he thought, in truth, given the invitation; but he would not allow his own personal motives to induce him to carry on the argument with Lady Lufton.  ‘The bishop is a fool,’ he said, ’and the bishop’s wife is a knave.  Nevertheless I would not have had the young lady over to Framley at this moment.  If, however, you think it right and Robarts thinks it right, there is an end of it.’

‘Upon my word we do,’ said Lady Lufton.

I am induced to think that Mr Robarts was not quite confident of the expediency of what he was doing by the way in which he mentioned to Mr Oriel the fact of Miss Crawley’s presence at the parsonage as he drove that gentleman home in his gig.  They had been talking about Mr Crawley when he suddenly turned himself round, so that he could look at his companion, and said, ’Miss Crawley is staying with us at the parsonage at the present moment.’

‘What!  Mr Crawley’s daughter?’ said Mr Oriel, showing plainly by his voice that the tidings had much surprised him.

‘Yes; Mr Crawley’s daughter.’

’Oh, indeed.  I did not know that you were on those terms with the family.’

‘We have known them for the last seven or eight years,’ said Mark; ’and though I should be giving a false notion if I were to say that I myself have known them intimately—­for Crawley is a man whom it is quite impossible to know intimately—­yet the womankind at Framley have known them.  My sister stayed with them over at Hogglestock for some time.’

‘What; Lady Lufton?’

’Yes; my sister Lucy.  It was just before her marriage.  There was a lot of trouble, and the Crawleys were all ill, and she went to nurse them.  And then the old lady took them up, and altogether there came to be a sort of feeling that they were to be regarded as friends.  They are always in trouble, and now in this special trouble the women between them have thought it best to have the girl over at Framley.  Of course I had a kind of feeling about this commission; but as I knew that it would make no difference with me I did not think it necessary to put my veto upon the visit.’  Mr Oriel said nothing further, but Mark Robarts was aware that Mr Oriel did not quite approve of the visit.