As for Uncle Charles, he had simply declined all responsibility in the
matter. He had never seen the Dunstables, wouldn't know them from Adam,
and had no concern whatever in what happened to their son. The situation
merely excited in him one man's natural amusement at the folly of
another. The boy was more than of age. Really he and his mother must
look after themselves. To meddle with the young man's love affairs,
simply because he happened to visit your studio in the company of a
lady, would be outrageous. So the painter laughed, shook his head, and
went back to his picture. Then Miss Wigram, looking despondently from
the silent Doris to the artist at work, had said with sudden energy, "I
must find out about her! I'm--I'm sure she's a horrid woman! Can you
tell me, sir"--she addressed Bentley--"the name of the gentleman who was
painting her before she came here?"
Bentley had hummed and hawed a little, twisting his red moustache, and
finally had given the name and address; whereupon Miss Wigram had
gathered up her papers, some of which had drifted to the floor between
her table and Doris's easel, and had taken an immediate departure, a
couple of hours before her usual time, throwing, as she left the
studio, a wistful and rather puzzled look at Mrs.
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