Mrs。Vanboroughroseimmediately。“Ring，dear，“shesaid，“whenyouwantcoffee。“Asshepassedherhusbandshestoppedandlaidherhandtenderlyonhisforehead。“IwishIcouldsmoothoutthatfrown!“shewhispered。Mr。Vanboroughimpatientlyshookhishead。Mrs。Vanboroughsighedassheturnedtothedoor。Herhusbandcalledtoherbeforeshecouldleavetheroom。
　　“Mindwearenotinterrupted!“
　　“Iwilldomybest，John。“ShelookedatMr。Kendrew，holdingthedooropenforher；andresumed，withaneffort，herformerlightnessoftone。“Butdon’tforgetour’bornenemies!’Somebodymaycome，evenatthishouroftheevening，whowantstoseethehouse。“
　　Thetwogentlemenwereleftaloneovertheirwine。Therewasastrongpersonalcontrastbetweenthem。Mr。Vanboroughwastallanddark——adashing，handsomeman；withanenergyinhisfacewhichalltheworldsaw；withaninbredfalsenessunderitwhichonlyaspecialobservercoulddetect。Mr。Kendrewwasshortandlight——slowandawkwardinmanner，exceptwhensomethinghappenedtorousehim。Lookingin_his_face，theworldsawanuglyandundemonstrativelittleman。Thespecialobserver，penetratingunderthesurface，foundafinenaturebeneath，restingonasteadyfoundationofhonorandtruth。
　　Mr。Vanboroughopenedtheconversation。
　　“Ifyouevermarry，“hesaid，“don’tbesuchafool，Kendrew，asIhavebeen。Don’ttakeawifefromthestage。“
　　“IfIcouldgetsuchawifeasyours，“repliedtheother，“I
　　wouldtakeherfromthestageto-morrow。Abeautifulwoman，acleverwoman，awomanofunblemishedcharacter，andawomanwhotrulylovesyou。Manalive!whatdoyouwantmore？“
　　“Iwantagreatdealmore。Iwantawomanhighlyconnectedandhighlybred——awomanwhocanreceivethebestsocietyinEngland，andopenherhusband’swaytoapositionintheworld。“
　　“Apositionintheworld!“criedMr。Kendrew。“Hereisamanwhosefatherhaslefthimhalfamillionofmoney——withtheoneconditionannexedtoitoftakinghisfather’splaceattheheadofoneofthegreatestmercantilehousesinEngland。Andhetalksaboutaposition，asifhewasajuniorclerkinhisownoffice!
　　Whatonearthdoesyourambitionsee，beyondwhatyourambitionhasalreadygot？“
　　Mr。Vanboroughfinishedhisglassofwine，andlookedhisfriendsteadilyintheface。
　　“Myambition，“hesaid，“seesaParliamentarycareer，withaPeerageattheendofit——andwithnoobstacleinthewaybutmyestimablewife。“
　　Mr。Kendrewliftedhishandwarningly。“Don’ttalkinthatway，“
　　hesaid。“Ifyou’rejoking——it’sajokeIdon’tsee。Ifyou’reinearnest——youforceasuspiciononmewhichIwouldrathernotfeel。Letuschangethesubject。“
　　“No!Letushaveitoutatonce。Whatdoyoususpect？“
　　“Isuspectyouaregettingtiredofyourwife。“
　　“Sheisforty-two，andIamthirty-five；andIhavebeenmarriedtoherforthirteenyears。Youknowallthat——andyouonlysuspectIamtiredofher。Blessyourinnocence!Haveyouanythingmoretosay？“
　　“Ifyouforcemetoit，Itakethefreedomofanoldfriend，andIsayyouarenottreatingherfairly。It’snearlytwoyearssinceyoubrokeupyourestablishmentabroad，andcametoEnglandonyourfather’sdeath。Withtheexceptionofmyself，andoneortwootherfriendsofformerdays，youhavepresentedyourwifetonobody。Yournewpositionhassmoothedthewayforyouintothebestsociety。Younevertakeyourwifewithyou。Yougooutasifyouwereasingleman。Ihavereasontoknowthatyouareactuallybelievedtobeasingleman，amongthesenewacquaintancesofyours，inmorethanonequarter。Forgivemeforspeakingmymindbluntly——IsaywhatIthink。It’sunworthyofyoutokeepyourwifeburiedhere，asifyouwereashamedofher。“
　　“I_am_ashamedofher。“
　　“Vanborough!“
　　“Waitalittle!youarenottohaveitallyourownway，mygoodfellow。Whatarethefacts？ThirteenyearsagoIfellinlovewithahandsomepublicsinger，andmarriedher。Myfatherwasangrywithme；andIhadtogoandlivewithherabroad。Itdidn’tmatter，abroad。Myfatherforgavemeonhisdeath-bed，andIhadtobringherhomeagain。Itdoesmatter，athome。Ifindmyself，withagreatcareeropeningbeforeme，tiedtoawomanwhoserelationsareasyouwellknowthelowestofthelow。A
　　womanwithouttheslightestdistinctionofmanner，ortheslightestaspirationbeyondhernurseryandherkitchen，herpianoandherbooks。Is_that_awifewhocanhelpmetomakemyplaceinsociety？——whocansmoothmywaythroughsocialobstaclesandpoliticalobstacles，totheHouseofLords？ByJupiter!ifevertherewasawomantobe’buried’asyoucallit，thatwomanismywife。And，what’smore，ifyouwantthetruth，it’sbecauseI_can’t_buryherherethatI’mgoingtoleavethishouse。Shehasgotacursedknackofmakingacquaintanceswherevershegoes。She’llhaveacircleoffriendsaboutherifI
　　leaveherinthisneighborhoodmuchlonger。Friendswhorememberherasthefamousopera-singer。Friendswhowillseeherswindlingscoundrelofafatherwhenmybackisturnedcomingdrunktothedoortoborrowmoneyofher!Itellyou，mymarriagehaswreckedmyprospects。It’snousetalkingtomeofmywife’svirtues。Sheisamillstoneroundmyneck，withallhervirtues。
　　IfIhadnotbeenabornidiotIshouldhavewaited，andmarriedawomanwhowouldhavebeenofsomeusetome；awomanwithhighconnections——“
　　Mr。Kendrewtouchedhishost’sarm，andsuddenlyinterruptedhim。
　　“Tocometothepoint，“hesaid——“awomanlikeLadyJaneParnell。“
　　Mr。Vanboroughstarted。Hiseyesfell，forthefirsttime，beforetheeyesofhisfriend。
　　“WhatdoyouknowaboutLadyJane？“heasked。
　　“Nothing。Idon’tmoveinLadyJane’sworld——butIdogosometimestotheopera。Isawyouwithherlastnightinherbox；
　　andIheardwhatwassaidinthestallsnearme。YouwereopenlyspokenofasthefavoredmanwhowassingledoutfromtherestbyLadyJane。Imaginewhatwouldhappenifyourwifeheardthat!Youarewrong，Vanborough——youareineverywaywrong。Youalarm，youdistress，youdisappointme。Ineversoughtthisexplanation——butnowithascome，Iwon’tshrinkfromit。Reconsideryourconduct；
　　reconsiderwhatyouhavesaidtome——oryoucountmenolongeramongyourfriends。No!I
　　wantnofarthertalkaboutitnow。Wearebothgettinghot——wemayendinsayingwhathadbetterhavebeenleftunsaid。Oncemore，letuschangethesubject。Youwrotemewordthatyouwantedmehereto-day，becauseyouneededmyadviceonamatterofsomeimportance。Whatisit？“
　　Silencefollowedthatquestion。Mr。Vanborough’sfacebetrayedsignsofembarrassment。Hepouredhimselfoutanotherglassofwine，anddrankitatadraughtbeforehereplied。
　　“It’snotsoeasytotellyouwhatIwant，“hesaid，“afterthetoneyouhavetakenwithmeaboutmywife。“
　　Mr。Kendrewlookedsurprised。
　　“IsMrs。Vanboroughconcernedinthematter？“heasked。
　　“Yes。“
　　“Doessheknowaboutit？“
　　“No。“
　　“Haveyoukeptthethingasecretoutofregardfor_her？_“
　　“Yes。“
　　“HaveIanyrighttoadviseonit？“
　　“Youhavetherightofanoldfriend。“
　　“Then，whynottellmefranklywhatitis？“
　　TherewasanothermomentofembarrassmentonMr。Vanborough’spart。
　　“Itwillcomebetter，“heanswered，“fromathirdperson，whomI
　　expecthereeveryminute。Heisinpossessionofallthefacts——andheisbetterabletostatethemthanIam。“
　　“Whoistheperson？“
　　“Myfriend，Delamayn。“
　　“Yourlawyer？“
　　“Yes——thejuniorpartnerinthefirmofDelamayn，Hawke，andDelamayn。Doyouknowhim？“
　　“Iamacquaintedwithhim。Hiswife’sfamilywerefriendsofminebeforehemarried。Idon’tlikehim。“
　　“You’reratherhardtopleaseto-day!Delamaynisarisingman，ifevertherewasoneyet。Amanwithacareerbeforehim，andwithcourageenoughtopursueit。HeisgoingtoleavetheFirm，andtryhisluckattheBar。Everybodysayshewilldogreatthings。What’syourobjectiontohim？“
　　“Ihavenoobjectionwhatever。Wemeetwithpeopleoccasionallywhomwedislikewithoutknowingwhy。Withoutknowingwhy，I
　　dislikeMr。Delamayn。“
　　“Whateveryoudoyoumustputupwithhimthisevening。Hewillbeheredirectly。“