Now that she did think of it, however, it certainly seemed
natural that he should object to being classed in any category which
included fast men, stupid men, or rascals; but even while she blamed
herself, and credited him with much forbearance in that he had allowed
her rudeness to pass unpunished, she was conscious of the existence,
in that substratum of thought which goes on continually irrespective
of our will, of a doubt as to whether he might not after all be one of
these--say, a fast man. For what _did_ she know about him? Nothing,
except that his manners were agreeable. True, she had heard of his
good deeds, and there is never smoke without fire; but a man may
balance his accounts, and many men do, in that way, topping up the
scale of good deeds pretty high when the bad ones on the other side
threaten to turn it; and, seeing that she knew nothing definitely
about his private character, suppose she had been deceived in him?
But, no! The thing was impossible. And just as she thought it, a
gentleman, sitting opposite, one whom she had not met before, looked
across the table and asked her if she knew Mr.
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