But when his wife said, in a tone which she rarely used:

"Mr. Arnot, before anything further is said upon this matter, I would
like to see you in your library"--he followed her without a word.

Before the library door closed, however, he could not forbear snarling.

"I told you that your having this big spoiled boy as an inmate of the
house would not work well."

"He has been offering himself to Laura, has he not?" she said quietly.

"I suppose that is the way in which you would explain his absurd,
maudlin words. A pitiful offer it was, which she, like a sensible girl,
declined without thanks."

"What course do you propose to take toward Haldane?"

"I was on the point of sending him home to his mother, and of suggesting
that he remain with her till he becomes something more than a fast,
foolish boy. As yet I see no reason for acting differently."

"On just what grounds do you propose to discharge him?"

"Has he not given sufficient cause this evening in his persecution of
Laura and his impudence to me?"

"Thomas, you forget that while young Haldane is your clerk, he enjoys a
social position quite equal to that which a son of ours would possess,
did we have one. Though his course toward Laura has been crude and