'
'Please to sit down, Mr Milvain. Father went out not long ago,
and I don't think he will be back very soon.'
'It was not really Mr Yule I wished to see,' said Jasper,
frankly. 'If he had been at home I should have spoken with him
about what I have in mind, but if you will kindly give me a few
minutes it will be much better.'
Marian glanced at the expiring fire. Her curiosity as to what
Milvain had to say was mingled with an anxious doubt whether it
was not too late to put on fresh coals; already the room was
growing very chill, and this appearance of inhospitality troubled
her.
'Do you wish to save it?' Jasper asked, understanding her look
and movement.
'I'm afraid it has got too low.'
'I think not. Life in lodgings has made me skilful at this kind
of thing; let me try my hand.'
He took the tongs and carefully disposed small pieces of coal
upon the glow that remained. Marian stood apart with a feeling of
shame and annoyance. But it is so seldom that situations in life
arrange themselves with dramatic propriety; and, after all, this
vulgar necessity made the beginning of the conversation easier.
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