Meanwhile Lady Constantine and her brother dined by themselves at Welland
House. They had not met since the morning, and as soon as they were left
alone Louis said, 'You have done very well so far; but you might have
been a little warmer.' 'Done well?' she asked, with surprise.
'Yes, with the Bishop. The difficult question is how to follow up our
advantage. How are you to keep yourself in sight of him?' 'Heavens, Louis! You don't seriously mean that the Bishop of Melchester has any feelings for me other than friendly?' 'Viviette, this is affectation. You know he has as well as I do.' She sighed. 'Yes,' she said. 'I own I had a suspicion of the same thing. What a misfortune!' 'A misfortune? Surely the world is turned upside down! You will drive me to despair about our future if you see things so awry. Exert yourself
to do something, so as to make of this accident a stepping-stone to
higher things. The gentleman will give us the slip if we don't pursue
the friendship at once.' 'I cannot have you talk like this,' she cried impatiently. 'I have no
more thought of the Bishop than I have of the Pope. I would much rather
not have had him here to lunch at all. You said it would be necessary to
do it, and an opportunity, and I thought it my duty to show some
hospitality when he was coming so near, Mr. Torkingham's house being so
small. But of course I understood that the opportunity would be one for
you in getting to know him, your prospects being so indefinite at
present; not one for me.' 'If you don't follow up this chance of being spiritual queen of
Melchester, you will never have another of being anything. Mind this,
Viviette: you are not so young as you were. You are getting on to be a
middle-aged woman, and your black hair is precisely of the sort which
time quickly turns grey. You must make up your mind to grizzled
bachelors or widowers. Young marriageable men won't look at you; or if
they do just now, in a year or two more they'll despise you as an
antiquated party.' Lady Constantine perceptibly paled. 'Young men what?' she asked. 'Say
that again.' 'I said it was no use to think of young men; they won't look at you much
longer; or if they do, it will be to look away again very quickly.' 'You imply that if I were to marry a man younger than myself he would speedily acquire a contempt for me? How much younger must a man be than his wife--to get that feeling for her?' She was resting her elbow on the
chair as she faintly spoke the words, and covered her eyes with her hand.