In addition, Lady Cicely civilly and sensibly recognised the points in common between her husband and Oliver Constable, and connected the men together by the safe general term ‘business men.’ ‘Mr. Hartley has never taken an active part in the affairs of his firm, he leaves everything to his partners,’ she was so good as to explain to Fan; ‘but of course the interests of trade are his interests, and he will look after them in the House if he is returned for the county. He and Mr. Constable ought to have a great deal to say to each other, so that we depend on your brother’s dining with us next week at the Grange. He must reserve a day for us when we are quite by ourselves—you will keep him in mind—won’t you?’ Lady Cicely almost pled with Fan, though she never dreamt of including the sister, who smiled a little grimly at the significant omission, in the invitation to the brother. Lady Cicely was too comfortably resigned and independent on her own account to care much for public favour, but, like a dutiful wife, she coveted it, so far as she saw her way to it, for her husband. She desired to see him in Parliament because so many of her set were there. She did not trouble herself much about Mr. Hartley’s being in trade—so many people whom she knew had something to do with trade now-a-days—still it was advisable that he should be pointed out as M.P. for his native county, as well as sleeping partner in Hartley, Norris, & Co. After all, Fan did not find fault altogether with the Hartleys’ self-interested notice. It was fully understood to be a give-and-take connection. It had none of that sole prerogative of bestowing honour—to which Fan had so bitterly objected in former days. To be sure, the Hartleys were not like the royally frank and free Stanhopes. Oh, no. Mr. Hartley and Lady Cicely would never raise their social inferiors by generous adoption into the upper ranks, or even stoop magnanimously to the lower. Though indeed, had Oliver Constable so chosen, it was in his power to be, in his degree, the man of university training and wide travel, the polished man of civilised society, who had shaken himself loose from all save the money earned by trade, which John Hartley showed himself with the approbation of everybody, save a few fanatics. But Oliver might make use of the Hartleys, as the Hartleys were plainly disposed to make use of him. Fan was ready in this silent, mutual compact, to be of benefit to the Hartleys; she returned Lady Cicely’s call, though Fan was not to dine at Copley Grange—since it was necessary to draw the line somewhere—and in the course of the call consented to the hostess’s extracting a considerable amount of available information about the place and people from the guest. Fan spoke to her acquaintances down to the Polleys and Dadds of Lady Cicely’s neighbourliness and willingness to confer her countenance on Friarton, in return for Friarton’s votes to her husband.