Instead, he made some
laughing remark, which sounded harshly flippant in her ears. She looked
at him reproachfully; it was cruel to treat her seriousness with scorn;
and then, seeing Lady Manorwater and the others on the lawn below, she
asked him with studied carelessness to take her back. Lewis obeyed
meekly, cursing in his heart his unhappy trick of an easy humour. If
his virtues were to go far to rob him of what he most cared for, it
looked black indeed for the unfortunate young man.
Meantime Wratislaw and Mr. Stocks had drawn together by the attraction
of opposites. A change had come over the latter, and momentarily
eclipsed his dignity. For the man was not without tact, and he felt
that the attitude of high-priest of all the virtues would not suit in
the presence of one whose favourite task it was to laugh his so-called
virtues to scorn. Such, at least to begin with, was his honourable
intention. But the subtle Wratislaw drew him from his retirement and
skilfully elicited his coy principles. It was a cruel performance--a
shameless one, had there been any spectator. The one would lay down a
fine generous line of policy; the other would beg for a fact in
confirmation. The one would haltingly detail some facts; the other
would promptly convince him of their falsity. Eventually the victim
grew angry and a little frightened. The real Mr.
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