human
I have not seen you lately, Lawrence,
gpt
No; I have been in America.
human
Really! You like America?
gpt
Yes. I came back yesterday. You are looking well, Agatha.
human
I am very well.
gpt
And you have got a new picture on the wall. Where did you buy this?
human
At Agnew's, three years ago. It was in the Exhibition. Now I think of it, you have been away for four years, Lawrence.
gpt
I like it. Have you anything to tell me, Agatha?
human
Nothing that will interest you. The house is the same. We have had several dreadful winters, and I have been in constant fear that my shrubs would be killed. Some of them were. My dog Pheenie is dead, and I never intend to have another. The cat that you used to tease is well. My aviary has increased; my horses are the same you knew four years ago; my servants are the same; and my habits, I am thankful to say, have not deteriorated to my knowledge, although I am four years older.
gpt
And your young ladies--the traps you used to set for me when I was four years younger, Agatha--where are they?
human
Married, Lawrence, all of them. What a pity that you could not fix yourself! But it is never too late to mend. At one time I feared you would be attracted by Victoria Pengelley.
gpt
That would have been a mistake. I thought so then, and I know it now. She is a cold and bloodless woman, Lawrence. Besides, she is married, thank goodness. We must find you some one else.
human
My love days are over, he said, with a harsh and grating voice.
gpt
I buried them before I went abroad.
human
You will tell me all about that some day, when you feel communicative. Meantime, stay to dinner, and enliven me with all your adventures. You may have some tea if you like, but I do not invite you, because you will want to go away again directly afterwards. Lawrence, what do you intend to do, now you are home again? Are you going to take up the old aimless life, or shall you be serious?
gpt
I think the aimless life suits me best. And it certainly is the slowest. Don't you think, Agatha, that as we have got to get old and presently to die, we may as well go in for making the time go slow? That is the reason why I have never done anything.
human
I never do anything myself, except listen to what other people tell me. But I find the days slip away all too quickly.
gpt
Agatha, I am in a difficulty. That is one of the reasons why I have come to see you to day.
human
Poor Lawrence! You always are in a difficulty.
gpt
This time it is not my fault; but it is serious. Agatha, I have got--a----
human
Not a wife, Lawrence; not a wife without telling me!
gpt
No, Agatha, he flushed crimson,
human
A ward?
gpt
Do you remember Dick Fleming, who was killed in the hunting-field about fifteen years ago?
human
Yes, perfectly. He was one of my swains ever so long ago, before I married my poor dear husband.
gpt
He left a daughter, then a child of four or five. And he made me one of that child's guardians. The other was a Mr. Dyson, who took her and brought her up. He is dead, and the young lady, now nineteen years of age, comes to me.
human
But, Lawrence, what on earth are you going to do with a girl of nineteen?
gpt
I don't know, Agatha. I cannot have her with me in the Albany, can I?
human
Not very well, I think.
gpt
I cannot take a small house in Chester Square, and give evening-parties for my ward and myself, can I?
human
Not very well, Lawrence.
gpt
She is staying with my lawyer, Jagenal; a capital fellow, but his house is hardly the right place for a young lady.
human
Lawrence, what will you do? This is a very serious responsibility.
gpt
Very.
human
What sort of a girl is she?
gpt
Phillis Fleming is what you would call, I think, a beautiful girl. She is tall, and has a good figure. Her eyes are brown, and her hair is brown, with lots of it. Her features are small, and not too regular. She has got a very sweet smile, and I should say a good temper, so long as she has her own way.
human
No, doubt, said Agatha.
gpt
Pray, go on; you seem to have studied her appearance with a really fatherly care.
human
She has a very agreeable voice; a _naivete_ in manner that you should like; she is clever and well informed.
gpt
Is she strong-minded, Lawrence?
human
NO, said Lawrence, with emphasis,
gpt
Always in extremes, of course, though I am not certain what.
human
She wants, so far as I can see, nothing but the society of some amiable accomplished gentlewoman----
gpt
Lawrence, you are exactly the same as you always were. You begin by flattery. Now I know what you came here for.
human
An amiable accomplished gentlewoman, who would exercise a gradual and steady influence upon her.
gpt
You want her to stay with me, Lawrence. And you are keeping something back. Tell me instantly. You say she is beautiful. It must be something else. Are her manners in any way unusual? Does she drop _h's_, and eat with her knife?
human
Temper good, you say; manner perfect; appearance graceful. What can be the reserved objection? My dear cousin, you pique my curiosity. She is sometimes, probably insane?
gpt
No, Agatha, not that I know of. It is only that her guardian brought her up in entire seclusion from the world, and would not have her taught to read and write.
human
How very remarkable!
gpt
On the other hand, she can draw. She draws everything and everybody. She has got a book full of drawings which she calls her diary. They are the record of her life. She will show them to you, and tell you all her story. You will take her for a little while, Agatha, will you?
human
Yes.