I bade them a hurried
'Good-bye.'
'How shall I be able to stay out of England until I know all about
her?' said my mother. 'Go back and learn all about her, Henry, and
write to me; and be sure to get and take care of that dreadful
picture, and write to me about that also.'
When the carriage left I walked rapidly along the Square, looking
for a hansom. In a second or two Sleaford was by my side. He took my
arm.
'I suppose you're goin' back to cane him, aren't you?' said he.
'Cane whom?' I said impatiently, for that intolerable thought which
I have hinted at was now growing within my brain, and I must, _must_
be alone to grapple with it.
'Cane the d----d painter, of course,' said Sleaford, opening his
great blue eyes in wonder that such a question should be asked.
'Awfully bad form that fellow goin' and puttin' your mother in the
picture. But that's just the way with these fellows.'
'What do you mean?' I asked again.
'What do I mean? The paintin' and writin' fellows. You can't make a
silk purse out of a sow's ear, as I've often and often said to Cyril
Aylwin; and by Jove, I'm right for once.
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