"How can you ask at such a crisis?" said Marian, in a mock heroic style, for her spirits always rose at the prospect of action. "In what business should a wife be engaged at such a time but her husband's? My business of course is--electioneering!" "Electioneering--you?" "Well, canvassing; you know perfectly well what I mean!" "And you want me to go with you?" "Why not? Mr. Benthall, what on earth is all this questioning about?" "My dear Mrs. Creswell, do you not know that it is impossible for me to go with you on the expedition you propose?" "No, I do not know it! Why is it impossible?" "Simply because in politics I happen to be diametrically opposed to Mr. Creswell. My sympathies are strongly Liberal." "Then, in the present election your intention is to vote against Mr. Creswell, and for his opponent?" "Undoubtedly. Is this the first time you have heard this?" "Most unquestionably! Who should have told me?" "Mr. Creswell! Directly it was known that he would come forward in the Conservative interest, I told him my views!" "He did not mention the circumstance to me," said Marian; then added, after a moment, "I never asked him about you, to be sure! I had no idea that there was the least doubt of the way in which you intended to vote." There was a dead silence for a few minutes after this, a pause during which Gertrude Creswell took advantage of Marian's abstraction to catch Maude's eye, and to shape her mouth into the silent expression of the word "Row"--delivered three times with great solemnity. At last Marian looked up and said, with an evidently forced smile, "Well, then, I must be content to shrug my shoulders, and submit to these dreadful politics so far dividing us that I must give up all idea of your accompanying me into Brocksopp, Mr. Benthall; but I shall be obliged if you will give me five minutes' conversation--I will not detain you longer--in the library." Mr. Benthall, muttering that he should be delighted, rose from his chair and opened the door for his hostess to pass out; before he followed her he turned round to glance at, the girls, and again Gertrude's fresh rosy lips pressed themselves together and then opened fur the silent expression of the word "Row," but he took no notice of this cabalistic sign beyond nodding his head in a reassuring manner, and then followed Mrs. Creswell to the library. "Pray be seated, Mr. Benthall," said Marian, dropping into a chair at the writing-table, and commencing to sketch vaguely on the blotting-book with a dry pen; "the news you told me just now has come upon me quite unexpectedly. I had no idea--looking at your intimacy in this house--intimacy which, as far as I know, has continued uninterruptedly to the present moment--no idea that you could have been going to act against us at so serious a crisis as the present."