Manford had gone back to his desk-chair. Habit made him feel more at home there, in fuller possession of himself; Pauline, in the seat facing him, the light full on her, seemed no more than a client to be advised, or an opponent to be talked over. He knew she felt the difference too. So far he had managed to preserve his professional privacy and his professional authority. What he did "at the office" was clouded over, for his family, by the vague word "business," which meant that a man didn't want to be bothered. Pauline had never really distinguished between practising the law and manufacturing motors; nor had Manford encouraged her to. But today he suspected that she meant her interference to go to the extreme limit which her well-known "tact" would permit. "You must not be mixed up in this investigation. Why not hand it over to somebody else? Alfred Cosby, or that new Jew who's so clever? The Lindons would accept any one you recommended; unless, of course," she continued, "you could persuade them to drop it, which would be so much better. I'm sure you could, Dexter; you always know what to say--and your opinion carries such weight. Besides, what is it they complain of? Some nonsense of Bee's, I've no doubt--she took a rest-cure at the School. If they'd brought the girl up properly there'd have been no trouble. Look at Nona!" "Oh--Nona!" Manford gave a laugh of pride. Nona was the one warm rich spot in his life: the corner on which the sun always shone. Fancy comparing that degenerate fool of a Bee Lindon to his Nona, and imagining that "bringing-up" made the difference! Still, he had to admit that Pauline--always admirable--had been especially so as a mother. Yet she too was bitten with this theosophical virus! He lounged back, hands in pockets, one leg swinging, instinctively seeking an easier attitude as his moral ease diminished. "My dear, it's always been understood, hasn't it, that what goes on in this office is between me and my clients, and not--" "Oh, nonsense, Dexter!" She seldom took that tone: he saw that she was losing her self-control. "Look here: I make it a rule never to interfere; you've just said so. Well--if I interfere now, it's because I've a right to--because it's a duty! The Lindons are my son's cousins: Fanny Lindon was a Wyant. Isn't that reason enough?" "It was one of the Lindons' reasons. They appealed to me on that very ground."