"
"He is a man of whom it is very hard to make a friend," said Phineas,
feeling that he was dishonest to Mr. Kennedy in saying so, but
thinking that such dishonesty was justified by what he owed to Lady
Laura.
"Yes;--he is hard, and what I call ungenial. We won't say anything
about him,--will we? Have you seen much of the Earl?" This she asked
as though such a question had no reference whatever to Lord Chiltern.
"Oh dear,--alas, alas!"
"You have not quarrelled with him too?"
"He has quarrelled with me. He has heard, Miss Effingham, of what
happened last year, and he thinks that I was wrong."
"Of course you were wrong, Mr. Finn."
"Very likely. To him I chose to defend myself, but I certainly shall
not do so to you. At any rate, you did not think it necessary to
quarrel with me."
"I ought to have done so. I wonder why my aunt does not come." Then
she rang the bell.
"Now I have told you all about myself," said he; "you should tell me
something of yourself."
"About me? I am like the knife-grinder, who had no story to
tell,--none at least to be told. We have all, no doubt, got our
little stories, interesting enough to ourselves."
"But your story, Miss Effingham," he said, "is of such intense
interest to me." At that moment, luckily, Lady Baldock came into
the room, and Phineas was saved from the necessity of making a
declaration at a moment which would have been most inopportune.
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