Mrs。Vanboroughroseimmediately。“Ring，dear，“shesaid，“whenyouwantcoffee。“Asshepassedherhusbandshestoppedandlaidherhandtenderlyonhisforehead。“IwishIcouldsmoothoutthatfrown!“shewhispered。Mr。Vanboroughimpatientlyshookhishead。Mrs。Vanboroughsighedassheturnedtothedoor。Herhusbandcalledtoherbeforeshecouldleavetheroom。
“Mindwearenotinterrupted!“
“Iwilldomybest，John。“ShelookedatMr。Kendrew，holdingthedooropenforher；andresumed，withaneffort，herformerlightnessoftone。“Butdon’tforgetour’bornenemies!’Somebodymaycome，evenatthishouroftheevening，whowantstoseethehouse。“
Thetwogentlemenwereleftaloneovertheirwine。Therewasastrongpersonalcontrastbetweenthem。Mr。Vanboroughwastallanddark——adashing，handsomeman；withanenergyinhisfacewhichalltheworldsaw；withaninbredfalsenessunderitwhichonlyaspecialobservercoulddetect。Mr。Kendrewwasshortandlight——slowandawkwardinmanner，exceptwhensomethinghappenedtorousehim。Lookingin_his_face，theworldsawanuglyandundemonstrativelittleman。Thespecialobserver，penetratingunderthesurface，foundafinenaturebeneath，restingonasteadyfoundationofhonorandtruth。
Mr。Vanboroughopenedtheconversation。