Premise: Ask Cook if she's missed any." It occurred to me very forcibly at that moment that to harbour Miss Howard and Alfred Inglethorp under the same roof, and keep the peace between them, was likely to prove a Herculean task, and I did not envy John.
Hypothesis: To keep the peace between Miss Howard and Alfred Inglethorp would prove only too easy, given how they craved each others' company. 
Label: contradiction