After lunch she left us alone to smoke. Young Gascoyne wheeled two armchairs to the window, which was delightfully shaded, and, giving me an excellent cigar, seated himself opposite with a pipe, and began to talk of his love affair. Since he had discovered that I knew of the secret meetings he had been only too anxious to make a confidant of me. “She absolutely prevents my thinking of anything else. I ought to be working, you know, but I can’t. Every time I settle down to do anything I think of her—she’s in my head and she stops there. The whole day long I wonder what she’s doing. She’s an absolute servant to those great big lubberly brothers of hers. Of course, they are kind to her in a way, but they want her to marry some lout out of the village. I don’t know how it will end, I am sure.” “Oh, these things have a way of deciding themselves.” “Yes, but not always satisfactorily.” “Why, you don’t think——?” “No, I don’t mean that, at least I hope to goodness not.” “You had better make up your mind to forget her and come to town.” “I couldn’t do it. It isn’t in me. It would take a will of iron. If my sister were a man she would do it, but then Edith couldn’t have fallen in love with anybody beneath her.” This was so obviously true that it required no comment. I was busy thinking while young Gascoyne babbled on, quite happy that he had a listener. I reflected what a very useless person he was in the world. He was quite right when he accused himself of a lack of will. The probability was that at forty he would be a confirmed toper. He was a pleasant companion enough, but had evidently as little capacity for true friendship as for anything else. His sudden affection for me was purely fictitious. I was the nearest thing to hand, and an ordinarily amusing companion was a godsend amid his present dullness. In town he would have seen nothing of me at all, unless I could contribute to the gaiety of his life; in which case he would no doubt give me a proportionate amount of his attention. The poor girl whom he had honoured with his affection was likely to have a very bad time of it should any mischief accrue. He was lovable enough in his way, but he was of no particular value to mankind in general.