"Perhaps she was afraid of her cruel father," suggested Mrs Cowper, deftly arranging Sir Arthur's hair into a curl in the middle of his forehead. "Don't touch that, papa, whatever you do. I want Charley to see it; it will give him a new view of your character. Of course it is the persistence of these two men that makes you feel that one of them is fated to succeed. Others come and others go, but they go on for ever." "Perhaps it would be as well to forbid them both the house," suggested her victimised father. "Not both at once, papa! Why, neither we nor Honour should ever know which was the right one, if they were both shut out together. You must do it in turn." "And after making one welcome for a week or so, pick a quarrel with him and install the other? Precious undignified, my dear child, but a man must make sacrifices for the sake of his family." "Ah, but that's just what you don't do!" cried Marian, roused to recollection of a grievance of her own. "How could you all but promise Charley that if a peaceful mission was sent to Agpur, he should command the escort?" "But surely, my dear, I was sacrificing my own comfort in promising to spare him?" "No, you were sacrificing me!" pouted his daughter. "I was making signs to you the whole time, not to let him go unless he would take me with him, and he won't. He has been horrid about it." "My dear Marian, you could not possibly go, with the hot weather coming on!" cried her mother, aghast. "Nor in any weather whatever," said Sir Arthur firmly. "Your signals were lost on me, Marian, but nothing would induce me to consent to your going to Agpur. The place is clearly in a most disturbed state, and the good faith of the new Rajah extremely doubtful." "Then don't let Charley go," was the prompt rejoinder. Sir Arthur raised his eyebrows. "You must settle that with your husband yourself, my dear. I have promised to allow him leave for the purpose if he wishes it." "And he will say that you are depending on him to command the escort, and I must settle it with you!" complained Marian. "And nobody really thinks about me at all." "My dear, it will be an excellent opportunity for Charles to bring himself into notice, whether the progress of the mission is peaceable or not. And if he goes, you and Honour shall have a run up to the hills, if Lady Antony will be so good as to look after you. But at present it is quite uncertain whether a mission will be despatched at all. We may have war instead." "Well, I think you might send one of Honour's young men, papa," said Marian, half crying. "She doesn't care about either of them, and if anything happened to Charley I should die."