"You must remember that I know very little of her. I have never spoken more intimately with her than you yourself have. Naturally, since she has ceased to be a child, I have kept my distance. In fact, I shall be heartily glad when the next three years are over, and we can shake hands with a definite good-bye." "What irritates you?" inquired Spence, with a smile which recognized a phase of his friend's character. "The fact of my position. A nice thing for a fellow like me to have charge of a fortune! It oppresses me--the sense of responsibility; I want to get the weight off my shoulders. What the deuce did her father mean by burdening me in this way?" "He foresaw nothing of the kind," said Spence, amused. "Only the unlikely event of Trench's death left you sole trustee. If Doran purposed anything at all--why, who knows what it may have been?" Mallard refused to meet the other's look; his eyes were fixed on the horizon. "All the same, the event was possible, and he should have chosen another man of business. It's worse than being rich on my own account. I have dreams of a national repudiation of debt; I imagine dock-companies failing and banks stopping payment. It disturbs my work; I am tired of it. Why can't I transfer the affair to some trustworthy and competent person; yourself, for instance? Why didn't Doran select you, to begin with--the natural man to associate with Trench?" "Who never opened a book save his ledger; who was the model of a reputable dealer in calicoes; who--" "I apologize," growled Mallard. "But you know in what sense I spoke." "Pray, what has Cecily become since I saw her in London?" asked the other, after a pause, during which he smiled his own interpretation of Mallard's humour. "A very superior young person, I assure you," was the reply, gravely spoken. "Miss Doran is a young woman of her time; she ranks with the emancipated; she is as far above the Girton girl as that interesting creature is above the product of an establishment for young ladies. Miss Doran has no prejudices, and, in the vulgar sense of the word, no principles. She is familiar with the Latin classics and with the Parisian feuilletons; she knows all about the newest religion, and can tell you Sarcey's opinion of the newest play. Miss Doran will discuss with you the merits of Sarah Bernhardt in 'La Dame aux Camelias,' or the literary theories of the brothers Goncourt. I am not sure that she knows much about Shakespeare, but her appreciation of Baudelaire is exquisite. I don't think she is naturally very cruel, but she can plead convincingly the cause of vivisection. Miss Doran--" Spence interrupted him with a burst of laughter. "All which, my dear fellow, simply means that you--" Mallard, in his turn, interrupted gruffly.