He was brought to this strongly marital resolution by the length of the man’s present visit; by that and by the fact that, during the latter portion of it, his wife was alone with Colonel Osborne.  Nora had been there when the man came, but Mrs Fairfax had called, not getting out of her carriage, and Nora had been constrained to go down to her.  She had hesitated a moment, and Colonel Osborne had observed and partly understood the hesitation.  When he saw it, had he been perfectly well-minded in the matter, he would have gone too.  But he probably told himself that Nora Rowley was a fool, and that in such matters it was quite enough for a man to know that he did not intend any harm.

‘You had better go down, Nora,’ said Mrs Trevelyan; ’Mrs Fairfax will be ever so angry if you keep her waiting.’

Then Nora had gone and the two were alone together.  Nora had gone, and Trevelyan had heard her as she was going and knew that Colonel Osborne was alone with his wife.

‘If you can manage that it will be so nice,’ said Mrs Trevelyan, continuing the conversation.

‘My dear Emily,’ he said, ’you must not talk of my managing it, or you will spoil it all.’

He had called them both Emily and Nora when Sir Marmaduke and Lady Rowley were with them before the marriage, and, taking the liberty of a very old family friend, had continued the practice.  Mrs Trevelyan was quite aware that she had been so called by him in the presence of her husband and that her husband had not objected.  But that was now some months ago, before baby was born; and she was aware also that he had not called her so latterly in presence of her husband.  She thoroughly wished that she knew how to ask him not to do so again; but the matter was very difficult, as she could not make such a request without betraying some fear on her husband’s part.  The subject which they were now discussing was too important to her to allow her to dwell upon this trouble at the moment, and so she permitted him to go on with his speech.

’If I were to manage it, as you call it, which I can’t do at all, it would be a gross job.’

’That’s all nonsense to us, Colonel Osborne.  Ladies always like political jobs, and think that they and they only make politics bearable.  But this would not be a job at all.  Papa could do it better than anybody else.  Think how long he has been at it!’

The matter in discussion was the chance of an order being sent out to Sir Marmaduke to come home from his islands at the public expense, to give evidence, respecting colonial government in general, to a committee of the House of Commons which was about to sit on the subject.  The committee had been voted, and two governors were to be brought home for the purpose of giving evidence.  What arrangement could be so pleasant to a governor living in the Mandarin Islands, who had had a holiday lately, and who could but ill afford to take any holidays at his own expense?