was involved. Godwin had reasonably feared that his obligations to
Sir Job Whitelaw must become known; impossible for such a matter to
be kept secret; all who took any interest in the young man had long
been privately acquainted with the facts of his position. Now that
discussion was rife, it would have been prudent in the Misses Lumb
to divulge as much of the truth at they knew, but (in accordance
with the law of natural perversity) they maintained a provoking
silence. Hence whispers and suspicious questions, all wide of the
mark. No one had as yet heard of Andrew Peak, and it seemed but too
likely that Lady Whitelaw, for some good reason, had declined to
discharge the expenses of Godwin's last year at the College.

Mr. Moxey himself felt that an explanation was desirable, but he
listened with his usual friendly air to Godwin's account of the
matter--which of course included no mention of Lady Whitelaw.

'Have you friends in London?' he inquired--like everyone else.

'No. Except that your nephew was so kind as to ask me to call on
him, if ever I happened to be there.'

There passed over Mr. Moxey's countenance a curious shadow. Godwin
noticed it, and at once concluded that the manufacturer condemned
Christian for undue advances to one below his own station. The
result of this surmise was of course a sudden coldness on Godwin's
part, increased when he found that Mr. Moxey turned to another
subject, without a word about his nephew.

In less than ten minutes he offered to take leave, and no one urged
him to stay longer. Mr. Moxey made sober expression of good wishes,