He couldn't,
of course, call upon Verena without her knowing it, and she might as
well make her protest (since he proposed to pay no heed to it) sooner as
later. He had seen nothing, personally, of their life together, but it
had come over him that what Miss Chancellor most disliked in him (had
she not, on the very threshold of their acquaintance, had a sort of
mystical foreboding of it?) was the possibility that he would interfere.
It was quite on the cards that he might; yet it was decent, all the
same, to ask her rather than any one else. It was better that his
interference should be accompanied with all the forms of chivalry.
Olive took no notice of his remark as to how she herself might be
affected by his visit; but she asked in a moment why he should think it
necessary to call on Miss Tarrant. "You know you are not in sympathy,"
she added, in a tone which contained a really touching element of
entreaty that he would not even pretend to prove he was.
I know not whether Basil was touched, but he said, with every appearance
of a conciliatory purpose--"I wish to thank her for all the interesting
information she has given me this evening."
"If you think it generous to come and scoff at her, of course she has no
defence; you will be glad to know that."
"Dear Miss Chancellor, if you are not a defence--a battery of many
guns!" Ransom exclaimed.
"Well, she at least is not mine!" Olive returned, springing to her feet.
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