Jepson summed up the situation in an oracular utterance:

"Henny one that's a friend of Mr. Devon's his hall right."

When Rodney was leaving, Jepson's mistress expressed the same thought to
her guest in a different way.

"Come often," she said. "You have given me a new interest. I don't think
you can quite realize what that means to me."

When Sonya arrived at five that afternoon, she found Jepson still
exuding reassurance. With two doctors within call, a nurse in the house,
and Mr. Devon and Miss Orleneff to telephone to at a moment's notice,
"nothink much could 'appen." So reasoned Jepson. He beamed approvingly
on Sonya, informed her that Mr. Devon was in the sick-room now, and
waved her through the hall with an effect of benediction.

She found Laurie just leaving, and they had a moment's chat on the upper
landing. Mrs. Ordway, he told her, was rather restless this afternoon,
but she seemed better than she had been yesterday. However, he didn't
like her looks at all, and he fancied the nurse was disturbed. Suppose
Sonya sounded Louise about cabling for Warren? Surely Warren would want
to know, Laurie thought.

For the moment Laurie's striking good looks were slightly dimmed. He was
hollow-eyed, almost haggard. Things were coming just a bit too fast for
him. The habit of carrying the burden of others had been taken on too
suddenly. Under the strain of it, his untrained mental muscles ached.

It was the irony of fate that Sonya, looking at him with the clear brown
eyes that were so much softer than Bangs's, and so much less beautiful
than Doris's, should misinterpret his appearance, his emotion, and his
reaction from the high spirits of the morning. He was again going the
pace, she decided; and, mingled with her pity for him, rose the scorn of
a strong soul that was the absolute master of the body in which it
dwelt.

His newly aroused perception carried some hint of this scorn to the boy,
covered though it was by the friendliness of Sonya's manner. The
knowledge added to his wretchedness. He had a childish desire to
explain, but he conquered it and hurried away. Some day, if not now,
Sonya would understand.

What he himself did not understand was the long stride he had taken in
the moment when he felt and resented her unspoken criticism. Heretofore
his attitude had been one of expressed and sincere indifference to the
opinions others held of him. He wanted them to like him, but he didn't
care a hang whether