"But if she had written on Monday, her answer would have been here on Wednesday morning;--indeed, you would have had it Tuesday evening, as mamma sent over to Whitby for the day mail letters." Poor Belinda was a bad lieutenant, and displayed too much of her senior officer's tactics in thus showing how much calculation and how much solicitude there had been as to the expected letter. "If I am contented I suppose you may be," said the brother. "But it does seem to me to be so very important! If she hasn't got your letter, you know, it would be so necessary that you should write again, so that the--the--the contamination should be stopped as soon as possible." Captain Aylmer shook his head and walked away. He was, no doubt, prepared to be morally indignant,--morally very indignant,--at the Askerton iniquity; but he did not like the word contamination as applied to his future wife. "Frederic," said his mother, later on the same day,--when the hardly-used groom had returned from his futile afternoon's inquiry at the neighbouring post-town,--"I think you should do something in this affair." "Do what, ma'am? Go off to Belton myself?" "No, no. I certainly would not do that. In the first place it would be very inconvenient to you, and in the next place it would not be fair upon us. I did not mean that at all. But I think that something should be done. She should be made to understand." "You may be sure, ma'am, that she understands as well as anybody." "I dare say she is clever enough at these kind of things." "What kind of things?" "Don't bite my nose off, Frederic, because I am anxious about your wife." "What is it that you wish me to do? I have written to her, and can only wait for her answer." "It may be that she feels a delicacy in writing to you on such a subject; though I own--. However, to make a long story short, if you like, I will write to her myself." "I don't see that that would do any good. It would only give her offence." "Give her offence, Frederic, to receive a letter from her future mother-in-law;--from me! Only think, Frederic, what you are saying." "If she thought she was being bullied about this, she would turn rusty at once."