He would not meet her eyes; but Alma searched his face for the meaning of these words, so evidently weighted.

‘Are you at all uneasy, Harvey?’

‘Not a bit —­ not a bit,’ answered the weak man in him.  ’I only meant that, if we are going to remove ——­’

They sat for more than five minutes in silence.  Alma’s brain was working very rapidly, as her features showed.  When he entered, she looked rather sleepy; now she was thrilling with vivid consciousness; one would have thought her absorbed in the solution of some exciting problem.  Her next words came unexpectedly.

’Harvey, if you mean what you say about letting me follow my own instincts, I think I shall decide to try my fortune —­ to give a public recital.’

He glanced at her, but did not answer.

‘We made a sort of bargain —­ didn’t we?’ she went on, quickly, nervously, with an endeavour to strike the playful note.  ’Hughie shall go to Mrs. Abbott’s, and I will attend to what you said about the choice of acquaintances.’

’But surely neither of those things can be a subject of bargaining between us?  Isn’t your interest in both at least equal to my own?’

‘Yes —­ I know —­ of course.  It was only a joking way of putting it.’

‘Tell me plainly’ —­ he looked at her now —­ ’have you the slightest objection, on any ground, to Hughie’s being taught by Mrs. Abbott?  If so, do let us clear it up.’

‘Dear, I have not a shadow of objection,’ replied Alma, straightening herself a little, and answering his gaze with excessive frankness.  ’How could I have?  You think Mrs. Abbott will teach him much better than I could, and in that you are quite right.  I have no talent for teaching.  I haven’t much patience —­ except in music.  It’s better every way, that he should go to Mrs. Abbott.  I feel perfect confidence in her, and I shouldn’t be able to in a mere stranger.’

Harvey gave a slow nod, and appeared to have something more of importance to say; but he only asked how the child’s cold had been tonight.  Alma replied that it was neither better nor worse; she spoke absently.

‘On whose encouragement do you principally rely?’ was Rolfe’s next question.

‘On that of twenty people!’

‘I said “principally".’

’Herr Wilenski has often praised me; and he doesn’t throw his praise away.  And you yourself, Harvey, didn’t you say last might that I was undoubtedly as good as most professionals?’

’I don’t think I used quite those words; and, to tell you the truth, it had never entered my head that you would take them for encouragement to such a step as this.’

Alma bent towards him, smiling.

’I understand.  You don’t think me good enough.  Now the truth, the truth!’ and she held up a finger —­ which she could not succeed in keeping steady.

’Yes, you shall have the truth.  It’s too serious a matter for making pretences.  My own judgment is worthless, utterly; it should neither offend nor encourage you.  But it’s very plain to me that you shouldn’t dream of coming before the public unless Wilenski, and perhaps some one else of equal or better standing, actually urges you to it.  Now, has he done anything like that?’