"I've so few visitors, it seems hardly worth while to leave notice of my exit and entrances," said philip,feeling rather oppressed just then by Stephen's bright strong presence and strong voice.
"Are you quite well this morning, Miss Tulliver?"said Stephen, turning to Maggie with stiff politeness,and putting out his hand with the air of fulfilling a social duty.
Maggie gave the tips of her fingers, and said, "Quite well, thank you," in a tone of proud indifference.philip's eyes were watching them keenly; but Lucy was used to seeing variations in their manner to each other, and only thought with regret that there was some natural antipathy which every now and then surmounted their mutual good-will. "Maggie is not the sort of woman Stephen admires, and she is irritated by something in him which she interprets as conceit," was the silent observation that accounted for everything to guileless Lucy. Stephen and Maggie had no sooner completed this studied greeting than each felt hurt by the other's coldness. And Stephen, while rattling on in questions to philip about his recent sketching expedition, was thinking all the more about Maggie because he was not drawing her into the conversation as he had invariably done before. "Maggie and philip are not looking happy," thought Lucy; "this first interview has been saddening to them."