lawyer's advice on the matter. To all this Mr. Furnival had given in his adhesion; and yet she had put it into her son's power to come to his drawing-room and chatter there of her whereabouts, For a moment or two he doubted; but at the expiration of those moments he saw that the deceit was necessary. 'She's to be in town, is she?' said he. The reader will of course observe that this deceit was practised, not as between husband and wife with reference to an assignation with a lady, but between the lawyer and the outer world with reference to a private meeting with a client. But then it is sometimes so difficult to make wives look at such matters in the right light.
'She's coming up for some shopping,' said Lucius.
'Oh! indeed,' said Mrs. Furnival. She would not have spoken if she could have helped it, but she could not help it; and then there was silence in the room for a minute or two, which Lucius vainly endeavoured to break by a few indifferent observations to Miss Furnival. The words, however, which he uttered would not take the guise of indifferent observations, but fell flatly on their ears, and at the same time solemnly, as though spoken with the sole purpose of creating sound.
'I hope you have been enjoying yourself at Birmingham,' said Mrs. Furnival.
'Enjoyed myself! I did not exactly go there for enjoyment.'
'Or at Romford, where you were before?'
'Women seem to think that men have no purpose but amusement when they go about their daily work,' said Mr. Furnival; and then he threw himself back in his arm-chair, and took up the last Quarterly.
Lucius Mason soon perceived that all the harmony of the evening had in some way been marred by the return of the master of the house, and that he might be in the way if he remained; he therefore took his leave.
'I shall want breakfast punctually at half-past eight to-morrow morning,' said Mr. Furnival, as soon as the stranger had withdrawn, 'I must be in chambers before ten;' and then he took his candle and withdrew to his own room.
Sophia rang the bell and gave the servant the order; but Mrs. Furnival took no trouble in the matter whatever. In the olden days she would have bustled down before she went to bed, and have seen herself that everything was ready, so that the master of the house might not be kept waiting. But all this was nothing to her now.
