d come to
him through his accident was so bad as this. At one moment it was
fury--wild, raging, unreasoning fury--that wished that Rachel and Breton
and the Duchess, all of them together might suffer the torments of
hell--And then swiftly following it came his love of Rachel, nearer now
to burning heights, so that he swore that, whatever she had done, he did
not care, he would forgive her everything, but all that mattered was
that she should be spared, that her honour should be vindicated. Then,
more quietly, he reflected that he was uncertain of everything as yet,
he had only that malicious old woman's word, and until he had something
more solid than that he must trust Rachel.

Oh! if only she would, of her own accord, speak! If she would only sit
there by his sofa and, with her hand in his, tell him, quite simply, in
what exactly her friendship with Breton consisted--Ah! then how he would
forgive her! How together they would be revenged upon the Duchess!

If she did not speak he did not know what he would do. That old woman's
mouth must be stopped; he must find out exactly how far the danger had
spread--he must deal with Breton--Now indeed he cursed so that he should
be tied to this sofa; there had swept down upon him the hardest trial of
his life.

Rachel returned from her party--she sat by his sofa and he lay there
looking at her.

Had it been a nice party? Not very--One of those war parties that
everyone had now. That silly Lady Meikleham recited "The Absent-minded
Beggar," and they had that French tenor from Covent Garden to sing
patriotic songs, and of course they got money out of everybody.

There'd been nothing for supper--She'd seen nobody amusing--

She broke out: "Roddy dear, what have you been doing with yourself? You
look as white and tired as anything--Has that pain in your back----?"

"No, dear,--thank you."

"I _wish_ I hadn't gone, and the dinner at Lady Massiter's was so
stupid--Monty Carfax whom I loathe and Lord Massiter so dull and
stupid--says he's coming to see you to-morrow afternoon."

"Well, he can, I'm at anybody's mercy!"

She got up, stood over him for a moment looking so tall and slender, so
dark with diamonds in her black hair, so lovely to-night!

She looked down upon him, then suddenly bent and kissed him.

"Roddy----"

"What is it, dear?" He caught her hand so fiercely that she cried:

"Roddy dear, I----"

"Yes."

"Oh, nothing, only you look so tired, I wish _I_ cou