"Young people!" said Lady Mary, with a rather pathetic smile.
"John will think you are laughing at me. Am I to be young still at
five-and-thirty?"

"To be sure," said John, "unless you are going to be so unkind as to
make a man only ten years your senior feel elderly."

Miss Crewys interposed with a simple statement. "In my day, the age of
a lady was never referred to in polite conversation. Least of all by
herself. I never allude to mine."

"You are unmarried, Georgina," said Lady Belstone, unexpectedly
turning upon her ally. "Unmarried ladies are always sensitive on the
subject of age. I am sure I do not care who knows that my poor admiral
was twenty years my senior. And _his_ age can be looked up in any book
of reference. It would have been useless to try and conceal it,--a man
so well known."

"A woman is as old as she looks," said the canon, soothingly, for the
annoyance of Miss Crewys was visible. "I am bound to say that Miss
Crewys looks exactly the same as when I first knew her."

"Of course, a spinster escapes the wear and tear of matrimony," said
Miss Crewys, glaring at her widowed relative.

"H'm, h'm!" said Dr. Blundell. "By-the-by, have you inspected the old
picture gallery, Mr. Crewys?"

"Not yet," said John.