Mrs.Fisher, too, appearing frequently in the neighbourhood, drove over to impart her experiences and give Lily what she called the latest report from the weather-bureau; and the latter, who had never directly invited her confidence, could yet talk with her more freely than with Gerty Farish, in whose presence it was impossible even to admit the existence of much that Mrs.Fisher conveniently took for granted.
Mrs.Fisher, moreover, had no embarrassing curiosity.

She did not wish to probe the inwardness of Lily's situation, but simply to view it from the outside, and draw her conclusions accordingly; and these conclusions, at the end of a confidential talk, she summed up to her friend in the succinct remark: "You must marry as soon as you can." Lily uttered a faint laugh--for once Mrs.Fisher lacked originality.

"Do you mean, like Gerty Farish, to recommend the unfailing panacea of 'a good man's love' ?" "No--I don't think either of my candidates would answer to that description," said Mrs.Fisher after a pause of reflection.
"Either?
Are there actually two ?" "Well, perhaps I ought to say one and a half--for the moment." Miss Bart received this with increasing amusement.

"Other things being equal, I think I should prefer a half-husband: who is he ?" "Don't fly out at me till you hear my reasons--George Dorset." "Oh----" Lily murmured reproachfully; but Mrs.Fisher pressed on unrebuffed.

"Well, why not?
They had a few weeks' honeymoon when they first got back from Europe, but now things are going badly with them again.