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。
“Ifyouevermarry，“hesaid，“don’tbesuchafool，Kendrew，asIhavebeen。Don’ttakeawifefromthestage。“
“IfIcouldgetsuchawifeasyours，“repliedtheother，“I
wouldtakeherfromthestageto-morrow。Abeautifulwoman，acleverwoman，awomanofunblemishedcharacter，andawomanwhotrulylovesyou。Manalive!whatdoyouwantmore？“
“Iwantagreatdealmore。Iwantawomanhighlyconnectedandhighlybred——awomanwhocanreceivethebestsocietyinEngland，andopenherhusband’swaytoapositionintheworld。“
“Apositionintheworld!“criedMr。Kendrew。“Hereisamanwhosefatherhaslefthimhalfamillionofmoney——withtheoneconditionannexedtoitoftakinghisfather’splaceattheheadofoneofthegreatestmercantilehousesinEngland。Andhetalksaboutaposition，asifhewasajuniorclerkinhisownoffice!
Whatonearthdoesyourambitionsee，beyondwhatyourambitionhasalreadygot？“
Mr。Vanboroughfinishedhisglassofwine，andlookedhisfriendsteadilyintheface。
“Myambition，“hesaid，“seesaParliamentarycareer，withaPeerageattheendofit——andwithnoobstacleinthewaybutmyestimablewife。“
Mr。Kendrewliftedhishandwarningly。“Don’ttalkinthatway，“
hesaid。“Ifyou’rejoking——it’sajokeIdon’tsee。Ifyou’reinearnest——youforceasuspiciononmewhichIwouldrathernotfeel。Letuschangethesubject。“
“No!Letushaveitoutatonce。Whatdoyoususpect？“
“Isuspectyouaregettingtiredofyourwife。“
“Sheisforty-two，andIamthirty-five；andIhavebeenmarriedtoherforthirteenyears。Youknowallthat——andyouonlysuspectIamtiredofher。Blessyourinnocence!Haveyouanythingmoretosay？“
“Ifyouforcemetoit，Itakethefreedomofanoldfriend，andIsayyouarenottreatingherfairly。It’snearlytwoyearssinceyoubrokeupyourestablishmentabroad，andcametoEnglandonyourfather’sdeath。Withtheexceptionofmyself，andoneortwootherfriendsofformerdays，youhavepresentedyourwifetonobody。Yournewpositionhassmoothedthewayforyouintothebestsociety。Younevertakeyourwifewithyou。Yougooutasifyouwereasingleman。Ihavereasontoknowthatyouareactuallybelievedtobeasingleman，amongthesenewacquaintancesofyours，inmorethanonequarter。Forgivemeforspeakingmymindbluntly——IsaywhatIthink。It’sunworthyofyoutokeepyourwifeburiedhere，asifyouwereashamedofher。“
“I_am_ashamedofher。“
“Vanborough!“
“Waitalittle!youarenottohaveitallyourownway，mygoodfellow。Whatarethefacts？ThirteenyearsagoIfellinlovewithahandsomepublicsinger，andmarriedher。Myfatherwasangrywithme；andIhadtogoandlivewithherabroad。Itdidn’tmatter，abroad。Myfatherforgavemeonhisdeath-bed，andIhadtobringherhomeagain。Itdoesmatter，athome。Ifindmyself，withagreatcareeropeningbeforeme，tiedtoawomanwhoserelationsareasyouwellknowthelowestofthelow。A
womanwithouttheslightestdistinctionofmanner，ortheslightestaspirationbeyondhernurseryandherkitchen，herpianoandherbooks。Is_that_awifewhocanhelpmetomakemyplaceinsociety？——whocansmoothmywaythroughsocialobstaclesandpoliticalobstacles，totheHouseofLords？ByJupiter!ifevertherewasawomantobe’buried’asyoucallit，thatwomanismywife。And，what’smore，ifyouwantthetruth，it’sbecauseI_can’t_buryherherethatI’mgoingtoleavethishouse。Shehasgotacursedknackofmakingacquaintanceswherevershegoes。She’llhaveacircleoffriendsaboutherifI
leaveherinthisneighborhoodmuchlonger。Friendswhorememberherasthefamousopera-singer。Friendswhowillseeherswindlingscoundrelofafatherwhenmybackisturnedcomingdrunktothedoortoborrowmoneyofher!Itellyou，mymarriagehaswreckedmyprospects。It’snousetalkingtomeofmywife’svirtues。Sheisamillstoneroundmyneck，withallhervirtues。
IfIhadnotbeenabornidiotIshouldhavewaited，andmarriedawomanwhowouldhavebeenofsomeusetome；awomanwithhighconnections——“
Mr。Kendrewtouchedhishost’sarm，andsuddenlyinterruptedhim。
“Tocometothepoint，“hesaid——“awomanlikeLadyJaneParnell。“
Mr。Vanboroughstarted。Hiseyesfell，forthefirsttime，beforetheeyesofhisfriend。
“WhatdoyouknowaboutLadyJane？“heasked。
“Nothing。Idon’tmoveinLadyJane’sworld——butIdogosometimestotheopera。Isawyouwithherlastnightinherbox；
andIheardwhatwassaidinthestallsnearme。YouwereopenlyspokenofasthefavoredmanwhowassingledoutfromtherestbyLadyJane。Imaginewhatwouldhappenifyourwifeheardthat!Youarewrong，Vanborough——youareineverywaywrong。Youalarm，youdistress，youdisappointme。Ineversoughtthisexplanation——butnowithascome，Iwon’tshrinkfromit。Reconsideryourconduct；
reconsiderwhatyouhavesaidtome——oryoucountmenolongeramongyourfriends。No!I
wantnofarthertalkaboutitnow。Wearebothgettinghot——wemayendinsayingwhathadbetterhavebeenleftunsaid。Oncemore，letuschangethesubject。Youwrotemewordthatyouwantedmehereto-day，becauseyouneededmyadviceonamatterofsomeimportance。Whatisit？“
Silencefollowedthatquestion。Mr。Vanborough’sfacebetrayedsignsofembarrassment。Hepouredhimselfoutanotherglassofwine，anddrankitatadraughtbeforehereplied。
“It’snotsoeasytotellyouwhatIwant，“hesaid，“afterthetoneyouhavetakenwithmeaboutmywife。“
Mr。Kendrewlookedsurprised。
“IsMrs。Vanboroughconcernedinthematter？“heasked。
“Yes。“
“Doessheknowaboutit？“
“No。“
“Haveyoukeptthethingasecretoutofregardfor_her？_“
“Yes。“
“HaveIanyrighttoadviseonit？“
“Youhavetherightofanoldfriend。“
“Then，whynottellmefranklywhatitis？“
TherewasanothermomentofembarrassmentonMr。Vanborough’spart。
“Itwillcomebetter，“heanswered，“fromathirdperson，whomI
expecthereeveryminute。Heisinpossessionofallthefacts——andheisbetterabletostatethemthanIam。“
“Whoistheperson？“
“Myfriend，Delamayn。“
“Yourlawyer？“
“Yes——thejuniorpartnerinthefirmofDelamayn，Hawke，andDelamayn。Doyouknowhim？“
“Iamacquaintedwithhim。Hiswife’sfamilywerefriendsofminebeforehemarried。Idon’tlikehim。“
“You’reratherhardtopleaseto-day!Delamaynisarisingman，ifevertherewasoneyet。Amanwithacareerbeforehim，andwithcourageenoughtopursueit。HeisgoingtoleavetheFirm，andtryhisluckattheBar。Everybodysayshewilldogreatthings。What’syourobjectiontohim？“
“Ihavenoobjectionwhatever。Wemeetwithpeopleoccasionallywhomwedislikewithoutknowingwhy。Withoutknowingwhy，I
dislikeMr。Delamayn。“
“Whateveryoudoyoumustputupwithhimthisevening。Hewillbeheredirectly。“