He burst into uproarious laughter.
'So Reardon is rescued from the slum and the clerk's desk! Well, I'm glad; by Jove, I am. I should have liked it better if Marian had had the ten thousand and he the five, but it's an excellent joke. Perhaps the next thing will be that he'll refuse to have anything to do with his wife's money; that would be just like him.' After amusing himself with this subject for a few minutes more, he turned to the window and stood there in silence.
'Are you going to have tea with us?' Dora inquired.
He did not seem to hear her. On a repetition of the inquiry, he answered absently:
'Yes, I may as well. Then I can go home and get to work.'
During the remainder of his stay he talked very little, and as Maud also was in an abstracted mood, tea passed almost in silence. On the point of departing he asked:
'When is Marian likely to come here again?'
'I haven't the least idea,' answered Dora.
