In a minute, however, he was with her; and, as usual, his presence, unwished for, and even dreaded in anticipation, proved in reality soothing, almost agreeable. Eleanor struggled against this power of Gilbert to make himself agreeable to her; resented it deeply in her heart, as a sort of disloyalty to his brother, to whom she had in her soul given irrevocably and for ever, the place of master of her heart and destiny. This last was as strong a feeling as anything which could be experienced; but, nevertheless, Gilbert possessed this power of being agreeable to her when he came, and the fact puzzled and annoyed her more than she would have cared to own. ‘You are very kind to let me see you,’ he said at once, as he took the chair she pointed to. ‘I have been wanting to speak to you for a day or two—about Otho.’ ‘Ah, I knew it was about Otho. Say on, and let us have done with it.’ ‘Perhaps that will not be so easy, either. However, I will say on, as you suggest. Before I could speak to you, I wished to accomplish a certain piece of business. I have now done so, and am free to say what I like. I suppose you have been noticing how angry Otho looks, without being able in your own mind to assign a cause for it?’ ‘Unless the cause is that he is unhappy because he has been doing wrong.’ Gilbert repressed a smile. ‘I am afraid I cannot comfort you by confirming that theory of yours. By “doing wrong,” I suppose you mean his little escapade at the concert the other night. Yes, I see. Well, I imagine he has forgotten all about that by now. He is angry, or “unhappy,” if you like, because he has been, and is being, put to great inconvenience, and he doesn’t like it; it makes him uncomfortable.’ Then he told her about the quarrel between Otho and Roger, with a sort of amused carelessness, as if he had been diverted by the combat, and somewhat contemptuous of the combatants, which tone puzzled and did not reassure his hearer. ‘Otho does not like office work,’ he went on, smiling openly. ‘He has not had much of it yet; but the factories reopen to-morrow, after the holiday, and then he will have to try a little of it. I have telegraphed to a man whom I know to send down some one suitable, and I have promised Otho to wait until the some one comes, and just to put him in the way of business; but it may be a week or so before my friend can hit upon the right kind of man. That makes him very angry——’ ‘You don’t seem to think anything of the way in which _he_ has behaved,’ burst forth Eleanor, indignantly, the colour high in her cheeks. ‘I think it is the most abominable thing I ever heard of—his treating Mr. Camm in that way. It is—it is——’ Words failed her. She felt as if she would choke with anger and disgust. Gilbert’s eyes were fixed upon her face; the slight smile was still hovering about his lips.