Why Crewe should have practised such reticence, why it signified kindness and thoughtfulness to Mrs. Damerel, neither he nor she could easily have explained.  But their eyes met, with diffident admiration on the one side, and touching amiability on the other.  Then they discussed Nancy’s inexplicable behaviour from every point of view; or rather, Mrs. Damerel discussed it, and her companion made a pretence of doing so.  Crewe’s manner had become patently artificial; he either expressed himself in trivial phrases, which merely avoided silence, or betrayed an embarrassment, an abstraction, which caused the lady to observe him with all the acuteness at her command.

You haven’t seen her lately?’ she asked, when Crewe had been staring at the window for a minute or two.

‘Seen her?—­No; not for a long time.’

’I think you told me you haven’t called there since Mr. Lord’s death?’

‘I never was there at all,’ he answered abruptly.

’Oh, I remember your saying so.  Of course there is no reason why she shouldn’t go into business, if time is heavy on her hands, as I dare say it may be.  So many ladies prefer to have an occupation of that kind now-a-days.  It’s a sign of progress; we are getting more sensible; Society used to have such silly prejudices.  Even within my recollection—­how quickly things change!—­no lady would have dreamt of permitting her daughter to take an engagement in a shop or any such place.  Now we have women of title starting as milliners and modistes, and soon it will be quite a common thing to see one’s friends behind the counter.’

She gave a gay little laugh, in which Crewe joined unmelodiously,—­ for he durst not be merry in the note natural to him,—­then raised her eyes in playful appeal.

’If ever I should fall into misfortune, Mr. Crewe, would you put me in the way of earning my living.’

’You couldn’t.  You’re above all that kind of thing.  It’s for the rough and ready sort of women, and I can’t say I have much opinion of them.’

’That’s a very nice little compliment; but at the same time, it’s rather severe on the women who are practical.—­Tell me frankly:  Is my—­my niece one of the people you haven’t much opinion of?’

Crewe shuffled his feet.

‘I wasn’t thinking of Miss.  Lord.’

‘But what is really your opinion of her?’ Mrs. Damerel urged softly.

Crewe looked up and down, smiled in a vacant way, and appeared very uncomfortable.

‘May I guess the truth?’ said his playful companion.

’No, I’ll tell you.  I wanted to marry her, and did my best to get her to promise.’

‘I thought so!’ She paused on the note of arch satisfaction, and mused.  ’How nice of you to confess!—­And that’s all past and forgotten, is it?’

Never man more unlike himself than the bold advertising-agent in this colloquy.  He was subdued and shy; his usual racy and virile talk had given place to an insipid mildness.  He seemed bent on showing that the graces of polite society were not so strange to him as one might suppose.  But under Mrs. Damerel’s interrogation a restiveness began to appear in him, and at length he answered in his natural blunt voice: