'What is that?'

'You must not tell your husband.'

'Oh, dear! and why not?'

'I am sure you are sharp enough to see why you should not. A word
of this repeated at any club would put an end at once to your
project, and would be very damaging to me. And, beyond that, I
wouldn't wish him to know that I had meddled with it at all. I am
very chary of having my name connected with anything of the kind;
and, upon my word, I wouldn't do it for any living human being but
yourself. You'll promise me, Emily?'

She gave the promise, but there were two things in the matter, as
it stood at present, which she did not at all like. She was very
averse to having any secret from her husband with Colonel Osborne;
and she was not at all pleased at being told that he was doing
for her a favour that he would not have done for any other living
human being. Had he said so to her yesterday, before those offensive
words had been spoken by her husband, she would not have thought
much about it. She would have connected the man's friendship for
herself with his very old friendship for her father, and she would
have regarded the assurance as made to the Rowleys in general, and
not to herself in particular. But now, after what had occurred,
it pained her to be told by Colonel Osborne that he would make,
specially on her behalf, a sacrifice of his political pride which he
would make for no other person living. And then, as he had called
her by her Christian name, as he had exacted the promise, there