‘Nothing changed except the old woman, Brooke,’ said Miss Stanbury.

’Upon my word you are the least changed of all except that you don’t seem to be so terrible as you were then.’

‘Was I very terrible, Brooke?’

’My mother had told me, I fancy, that I was never to make a noise, and be sure not to break any of the china.  You were always very good-natured, and when you gave me a silver watch I could hardly believe the extent of my own bliss.’

‘You wouldn’t care about a watch from an old woman now, Brooke?’

’You try me.  But what rakes you are here!  It’s past eleven o’clock, and I must go and have a smoke.’

‘Have a what?’ said Miss Stanbury, with a startled air.

‘A smoke.  You needn’t be frightened, I don’t mean in the house.’

‘No I hope you don’t mean that.’

‘But I may take a turn round the Close with a pipe mayn’t I?’

‘I suppose all young men do smoke now,’ said Miss Stanbury, sorrowfully.

’Every one of them; and they tell me that the young women mean to take to it before long.’

’If I saw a young woman smoking, I should blush for my sex; and though she were the nearest and dearest that I had, I would never speak to her never.  Dorothy, I don’t think Mr Gibson smokes.’

‘I’m sure I don’t know, aunt.’

’I hope he doesn’t.  I do hope that he does not.  I cannot understand what pleasure it is that men take in making chimneys of themselves, and going about smelling so that no one can bear to come near them.’

Brooke merely laughed at this, and went his way, and smoked his pipe out in the Close, while Martha sat up to let him in when he had finished it.  Then Dorothy escaped at once to her room, fearful of being questioned by her aunt about Mr Gibson.  She had, she thought now, quite made up her mind.  There was nothing in Mr Gibson that she liked.  She was by no means so sure as she had been when she was talking to her sister, that she would prefer a clergyman to any one else.  She had formed no strong ideas on the subject of lovemaking, but she did think that any man who really cared for her would find some other way of expressing his love than that which Mr Gibson had adopted.  And then Mr Gibson had spoken to her about her aunt’s money in a way that was distasteful to her.  She thought that she was quite sure that if he should ask her, she would not accept him.

She was nearly undressed, nearly safe for the night, when there came a knock at the door, and her aunt entered the room.  ‘He has come in,’ said Miss Stanbury.

‘I suppose he has had his pipe, then.’

’I wish he didn’t smoke.  I do wish he didn’t smoke.  But I suppose an old woman like me is only making herself a fool to care about such things.  If they all do it I can’t prevent them.  He seems to be a very nice young man in other things; does he not, Dolly?’

‘Very nice indeed, Aunt Stanbury.’