She went downstairs. Her heart was beating fast. The fierce desire to drag the truth from Harriet at any cost, which had overpowered her for a minute, had passed away. Her face was pale. She sat down on the nearest chair. "Are you tired, my dear?" said Mr Durrant, approaching her at this minute, and sitting down by her side. "No; not really tired," she answered. "I am glad to find you all by yourself, Robina; there are many things I want to say to you." Robina waited expectantly. "You and Ralph are capital friends, aren't you?" "I hope so, indeed--indeed I love him dearly," said Robina. "And so does he love you. I cannot tell you, Robina, how thankful I am that he has made a girl of your sort one of his greatest friends; he might so very easily have chosen otherwise. There is Harriet Lane, for instance. Poor Harriet, I don't want to speak against her, but she is not your sort, my dear. Now I like an open mind, generous--if you will have it, a manly sort of girl, one with no nonsense in her: one, in short, who will help Ralph to be the sort of man I desire him to be by and by. You, my dear, as far as I can tell, are that sort of girl. You have no fear in you. You have, I think, an open mind and a generous disposition. Compared to Ralph, you are old, although of course in yourself you are very young. I shall have to leave my little boy immediately after the summer holidays. My wish was to send him to school--to Mrs Burton's school--where he could have had a little discipline, school life, and the companionship of many young people. But I have received a letter from Mrs Burton which obliges me to alter my plans." "Oh," said Robina, speaking quickly, "I am very, very sorry--" "So am I, dear, more sorry than I can express. I am terribly upset about this letter, and I do not think it wrong to confide my trouble to you." Here Mr Durrant drew his chair close to Robina's side. "You see, my dear child, I treat you as though you were grown-up." "Please do, Mr Durrant," said Robina, "for there is nothing I would not do for you."