"He is not vain now," said Margaret, turning round from the table, and speaking with quiet distinctness. "To-night he has not been like himself. Something must have annoyed him before he came here."
Mr. Bell gave her one of his sharp glances from above his spectacles. She stood it quite calmly; but, after she had left the room, he suddenly asked,--
"Hale! did it ever strike you that Thornton and your daughter have what the French call a tendresse for each other?"

'He is not vain now,' said Margaret, turning round. 'Tonight he has not been like himself. Something must have annoyed him before he came here.'
Mr. Bell gave her a sharp glance. After she had left the room, he asked,
'Hale! did it ever strike you that Thornton and your daughter have a tendresse for each other?'
