‘Have you been thinking any more about it?’ Lord Nidderdale said to the girl as soon as Madame Melmotte had succeeded in leaving them alone together.

‘I have thought ever so much more about it,’ said Marie.

‘And what’s the result?’

‘Oh — I’ll have you.’

‘That’s right,’ said Nidderdale, throwing himself on the sofa close to her, so that he might put his arm round her waist.

‘Wait a moment, Lord Nidderdale,’ she said.

‘You might as well call me John.’

‘Then wait a moment — John. You think you might as well marry me, though you don’t love me a bit.’

‘That’s not true, Marie.’

‘Yes it is; — it’s quite true. And I think just the same — that I might as well marry you, though I don’t love you a bit.’

‘But you will.’

‘I don’t know. I don’t feel like it just at present. You had better know the exact truth, you know. I have told my father that I did not think you’d ever come again, but that if you did I would accept you. But I’m not going to tell any stories about it. You know who I’ve been in love with.’

‘But you can’t be in love with him now.’

‘Why not? I can’t marry him. I know that. And if he were to come to me, I don’t think that I would. He has behaved bad.’

‘Have I behaved bad?’

‘Not like him. You never did care, and you never said you cared.’

‘Oh yes — I have.’

‘Not at first. You say it now because you think that I shall like it. But it makes no difference now. I don’t mind about your arm being there if we are to be married, only it’s just as well for both of us to look on it as business.’

‘How very hard you are, Marie.’

‘No, I ain’t. I wasn’t hard to Sir Felix Carbury, and so I tell you. I did love him.’

‘Surely you have found him out now.’

‘Yes, I have,’ said Marie. ‘He’s a poor creature.’

‘He has just been thrashed, you know, in the streets — most horribly.’ Marie had not been told of this, and started back from her lover’s arms. ‘You hadn’t heard it?’

‘Who has thrashed him?’

‘I don’t want to tell the story against him, but they say he has been cut about in a terrible manner.’

‘Why should anybody beat him? Did he do anything?’

‘There was a young lady in the question, Marie.’

‘A young lady! What young lady? I don’t believe it. But it’s nothing to me. I don’t care about anything, Lord Nidderdale; — not a bit. I suppose you’ve made up all that out of your own head.’

‘Indeed, no. I believe he was beaten, and I believe it was about a young woman. But it signifies nothing to me, and I don’t suppose it signifies much to you. Don’t you think we might fix a day, Marie?’

‘I don’t care the least,’ said Marie. ‘The longer it’s put off the better I shall like it; — that’s all.’

‘Because I’m so detestable?’

‘No — you ain’t detestable. I think you are a very good fellow; only you don’t care for me. But it is detestable not being able to do what one wants. It’s detestable having to quarrel with everybody and never to be good friends with anybody. And it’s horribly detestable having nothing on earth to give one any interest.’

‘You couldn’t take any interest in me?’

‘Not the least.’

‘Suppose you try. Wouldn’t you like to know anything about the place where we live?’

‘It’s a castle, I know.’

‘Yes; — Castle Reekie; ever so many hundred years old.’

‘I hate old places. I should like a new house, and a new dress, and a new horse every week — and a new lover. Your father lives at the castle. I don’t suppose we are to go and live there too.’

‘We shall be there sometimes. When shall it be?’

‘The year after next.’

‘Nonsense, Marie.’

‘To-morrow.’

‘You wouldn’t be ready.’

‘You may manage it all just as you like with papa. Oh, yes — kiss me; of course you may. If I’m to belong to you what does it matter? No; — I won’t say that I love you. But if ever I do say it, you may be sure it will be true. That’s more than you can say of yourself — John.’

So the interview was over and Nidderdale walked back to the house thinking of his lady love, as far as he was able to bring his mind to any operation of thinking. He was fully determined to go on with it. As far as the girl herself was concerned, she had, in these latter days, become much more attractive to him than when he had first known her. She certainly was not a fool. And, though he could not tell himself that she was altogether like a lady, still she had a manner of her own which made him think that she would be able to live with ladies. And he did think that, in spite of all she said to the contrary, she was becoming fond of him — as he certainly had become fond of her. ‘Have you been up with the ladies?’ Melmotte asked him.

‘Oh yes.’

‘And what does Marie say?’

‘That you must fix the day.’

‘We’ll have it very soon then; — some time next month. You’ll want to get away in August. And to tell the truth so shall I. I never was worked so hard in my life as I’ve been this summer. The election and that horrid dinner had something to do with it. And I don’t mind telling you that I’ve had a fearful weight on my mind in reference to money. I never had to find so many large sums in so short a time! And I’m not quite through it yet.’

‘I wonder why you gave the dinner then.’

‘My dear boy,’— it was very pleasant to him to call the son of a marquis his dear boy — ‘as regards expenditure that was a flea-bite. Nothing that I could spend myself would have the slightest effect upon my condition one way or the other.’

‘I wish it could be the same way with me,’ said Nidderdale.

‘If you chose to go into business with me instead of taking Marie’s money out, it very soon would be so with you. But the burden is very great. I never know whence these panics arise, or why they come, or whither they go. But when they do come, they are like a storm at sea. It is only the strong ships that can stand the fury of the winds and waves. And then the buffeting which a man gets leaves him only half the man he was. I’ve had it very hard this time.’

‘I suppose you are getting right now.’

‘Yes; — I am getting right. I am not in any fear, if you mean that. I don’t mind telling you everything as it is settled now that you are to be Marie’s husband. I know that you are honest, and that if you could hurt me by repeating what I say you wouldn’t do it.’

‘Certainly I would not.’

‘You see I’ve no partner — nobody that is bound to know my affairs. My wife is the best woman in the world, but is utterly unable to understand anything about it. Of course I can’t talk freely to Marie. Cohenlupe whom you see so much with me is all very well — in his way, but I never talk over my affairs with him. He is concerned with me in one or two things — our American railway for instance, but he has no interest generally in my house. It is all on my own shoulders, and I can tell you the weight is a little heavy. It will be the greatest comfort to me in the world if I can get you to have an interest in the matter.’

‘I don’t suppose I could ever really be any good at business,’ said the modest young lord.

‘You wouldn’t come and work, I suppose. I shouldn’t expect that. But I should be glad to think that I could tell you how things are going on. Of course you heard all that was said just before the election. For forty-eight hours I had a very bad time of it then. The fact was that Alf and they who were supporting him thought that they could carry the election by running me down. They were at it for a fortnight — perfectly unscrupulous as to what they said or what harm they might do me and others. I thought that very cruel. They couldn’t get their man in, but they could and did have the effect of depreciating my property suddenly by nearly half a million of money. Think what that is!’

‘I don’t understand how it could be done.’

‘Because you don’t understand how delicate a thing is credit. They persuaded a lot of men to stay away from that infernal dinner, and consequently it was spread about the town that I was ruined. The effect upon shares which I held was instantaneous and tremendous. The Mexican railway were at 117, and they fell from that in two days to something quite nominal — so that selling was out of the question. Cohenlupe and I between us had about 8,000 of these shares. Think what that comes to!’ Nidderdale tried to calculate what it did come to, but failed altogether. ‘That’s what I call a blow; — a terrible blow. When a man is concerned as I am with money interests, and concerned largely with them all, he is of course exchanging one property for another every day of his life — according as the markets go. I don’t keep such a sum as that in one concern as an investment. Nobody does. Then when a panic comes, don’t you see how it hits?’

‘Will they never go up again?’

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