She was looking at him keenly, and did not at all like a faint smile which hovered for a second upon his lips. 'That is a secondary question,' he said. 'The primary is, Where is she? I must go and find out.' 'Your father thinks they have gone back to England. It would just be lost labour, Pitt.' 'Not if I found that was true.' 'What _could_ you do for them, if you could discover them?' 'Mother, that would depend on what condition they were in. I made a promise once to Colonel Gainsborough to look after his daughter.' 'A very extraordinary promise for him to ask or for you to give, seeing you were but a boy at the time.' 'Somewhat extraordinary, perhaps. However, that is nothing to the matter.' There was a little vexed pause, and then Mrs. Dallas said: 'In the meanwhile, instead of busying yourself with far-away claims which are no claims, what do you think of paying a little attention to a guest in your own house?' Pitt lifted his head and seemed to prick up his ears. 'Miss Frere? You wish me to take her to drive? I am willing, mamma.' 'Insensible boy! You ought to be very glad of the privilege.' 'I would rather take you, mother.' The drive accordingly was proposed that very day; did not, however, come off. It was too hot, Miss Frere said. She was sitting in the broad verandah at the back of the house, which looked out over the garden. It was an orderly wilderness of cherry trees and apple trees and plum trees, raspberry vines and gooseberry bushes; with marigolds and four o'clocks and love-in-a-puzzle and hollyhocks and daisies and larkspur, and a great many more sweet and homely growths that nobody makes any account of nowadays. Sunlight just now lay glowing upon it, and made the shade of the verandah doubly pleasant, the verandah being further shaded by honeysuckle and trumpet creeper which wreathed round the pillars and stretched up to the eaves, and the scent of the honeysuckle was mingled with the smell of roses which came up from the garden. In this sweet and bowery place Miss Frere was sitting when she declared it was too hot to drive. She was in an India garden chair, and had her embroidery as usual in her hand. She always had something in her hand. Pitt lingered, languidly contemplating the picture she made. 'It _is_ hot,' he assented. 'When it is hot I keep myself quiet,' she went on. 'You seem to be of another mind.' 'I make no difference for the weather.' 'Don't you? What energy! Then you are always at work?' 'Who said so?' 'I said so, as an inference. When the weather has been cool enough to allow me to take notice, I have noticed that you were busy about something. You tell me now that weather makes no difference.' 'Life is too short to allow weather to cut it shorter,' said Pitt, throwing himself down on a mat. 'I think I have observed that you too always have some work in hand whenever I have seen you.' 'My work amounts to nothing,' said the young lady. 'At least you would say so, I presume.'