MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: The girl herself seems absolutely callous. I couldn’t get a word out of her. The mother says she hasn’t been able to, either, and she’s been trying to force her to tell her when it happened. The grandmother was there, as well, and you know what an odious old woman _she_ is. I shouldn’t be at all surprised if she’d been in the plot the whole time. MRS. BALLANTYNE: When did all this conversation take place, if I may ask? MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: Only yesterday. I happened to go in there, and found the mother in tears, so of course I got the whole story out of her. I felt it was a question for the Welfare Committee--married women, like ourselves--and I’ve done absolutely nothing, except ask Dr. Akers to see the girl and make certain. MRS. AKERS: Well! He’s never said a word to _me_ about it. I must say, he was out late last night and early this morning, but I do think he ought to have given me a hint. MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: Gentlemen are so odd, about anything to do with their business. I’ve often noticed it. One has to probe for _hours_, sometimes, to get the simplest piece of information. MRS. AKERS: Look here, we shall have to settle something. Of course the girl must go away. THE OTHERS: Of course. MRS. AKERS: The question is, where? MRS. BALLANTYNE: Surely some Sisterhood would take her in. MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: One doesn’t want to be hard on her. I told the mother that we should discuss it all quietly amongst ourselves before settling anything. MRS. BALLANTYNE: _I_ think we ought to send for the girl, and see if we can get anything out of her. Of course, it would be very trying and dreadful, but I’m sure that’s what we ought to do. I, for one, shouldn’t shrink from it. MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: You wouldn’t get a word out of her. They were all in league together, it seemed to me. Thoroughly artful and determined to stick together, I thought them, all three of them. MRS. AKERS: I can’t see why the grandmother should have any say in the matter at all. Pray what has _she_ to do with it? MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: She talked a great deal of nonsense about wanting to keep Fanny at home. As I said to her, if keeping Fanny at home results in _this_ sort of thing, then the sooner Fanny goes away from home the better. She was thoroughly nonplussed at that, as you may imagine, and couldn’t answer anything at all, though of course she chattered away, but I took not the slightest notice. MRS. BALLANTYNE: But, Mrs. Lloyd-Evans, do you mean to say that they won’t tell who the man is? MRS. LLOYD-EVANS: The girl won’t say a word. As I said to her myself, it _must_ have been somebody in London before they came away, and it’s no use telling me it happened here, because I simply shan’t believe it. MRS. AKERS: Well, what about a Home, or some other place where the girl could go till it’s all over? It had better be as far away from here as possible, of course. THE OTHER TWO AS BEFORE: Oh, of course.