There were no other lodgers in the house, and we had the means of going in and out without passing through the shop. I arranged, for the present at least, that neither Marian nor Laura should stir outside the door without my being with them, and that in my absence from home they should let no one into their rooms on any pretence whatever. This rule established, I went to a friend whom I had known in former days⁠—a wood engraver in large practice⁠—to seek for employment, telling him, at the same time, that I had reasons for wishing to remain unknown.