Chapter 30

Next day the friends met at Eden's club, and after lunching they had an
hour's conversation in the smoking-room. But their characters of the
previous evening now seemed to be reversed--Eden talked and the other
listened. An inexplicable change had come over the loquacious man of
letters; he listened and seemed to be on his guard, drinking little, and
saying nothing about his plans and prospects. "Damn the fellow, I can't
make him out at all," thought Eden, vexed that the other gave him no
opportunity of introducing the subject he had been thinking so much
about. He did not wish to introduce it himself, but in the end he was
compelled to do so.

"By the way, Merton, before I forget it," he said at length, "tell me
about Miss Affleck, whom I met at your house last evening."

Merton glanced at him and did not appear to be pleased at the question.
"Oh, I see," thought his friend, "the subject is not one that he finds
agreeable. I must know why."

"She is a friend of my wife's, but I have never seen much of her,"
replied Merton. "She is an orphan, without money or expectations, I
believe." After an interval he added--"But I dare say you know as much as
I can tell you about her, as you walked home or part of the way home with
her last evening."

This of course was a mere guess on Merton's part.

"Yes, I did, but I didn't question her, and I wanted to know where her
people came from, the Afflecks--"

"Oh, I can soon satisfy your curiosity on that point. That is really not
her name. She was adopted or something by a lady who took an interest in
her for some reason, or for no reason, and who thought proper to give her
that name because Miss Affleck's real surname didn't please her."

"What was her real name?"

"I can't remember. Barnes, or Thompson, or Wilkins--one of those sort of
names."

"And how came the lady to call her Affleck?"

"A mere fancy for an uncommon name, I believe, and because Frances
Affleck sounded better than Frances Green or Black or anything she could
think of. Of course she didn't really adopt the girl at all, but she
brought her up and educated her."

Eden was not yet satisfied with what he had heard, and as Merton seemed
inclined to drop the subject, which was not what he wanted, he remarked
tentatively:

"How curious then that Miss Affleck should now be compelled to make her
own living as a shop-assistant!"

"Oh, you got that out of her!" exclaimed Merton, in a tone of undisguised
annoyance.

"Don't say I got it out of her," returned the other a little