courage and her self-respect! With that she wondered what it was
that her grandmother had told him. Perhaps he believed worse than the
truth. Perhaps he thought that nothing too bad....

And what, after all, did he intend to do? This meeting had sprung from
some arranged plan and he had, doubtless, now, some end in view. Had he
meditated some vengeance upon Breton? At all costs, he must be
protected.

Meanwhile Breton had, apparently, taken it for granted that she had
known about his coming.

"How do you do, Lady Seddon?" he said, shaking her hand.

"You don't know my husband," she said quietly. "Roddy, this is Mr.
Breton."

Breton went over to the sofa and the two men shook hands.

"How do you do?" Roddy said, smiling. "My word, the feller _does_ look
ill!" was Roddy's thought. He did not know what type of man he had
expected to see, but it was not, most certainly, this nervous rather
pathetic figure with the pointed beard, the white cheeks, the blue eyes,
the armless sleeve, that uncertain movement that invited your
consideration and seemed to say, "I've had a bad time--not altogether my
fault. I'm trying now to do my best. Do help me."

"Just the sort of feller women would be sorry for," Roddy thought. But
he was rather happily conscious that, although he was lying there
helpless on his back, he was on the whole in better trim than his
visitor.

Breton, before he sat down, turning to Roddy, said, "I was very nearly
wiring to you my excuses, Sir Roderick. I've been most awfully unwell
lately and all that thunder yesterday laid me up. I got sunstroke once
in Africa and I've always had to be careful since."

"Jolly good of you to come," said Roddy. "Sorry it was such short
notice. But I can never tell, you know, quite how I'll be from day to
day."

Breton sat down and the two men looked at one another. To Breton, whose
imagination led him to live in an alternation of consternation and
anticipation, the whole affair was utterly bewildering. He had reached
his rooms, on the night before, soaked to the skin, and had found
Roddy's note waiting for him. It had seemed to him then as though it
were, in all probability, some trick of the devil's, but he had of
course accepted it as he accepted all challenges.

He had supposed that he would be confronted by a raging, tempestuous
husband. He would welcome anything that would bring him again into
contact with Rachel and he always enjoyed a scene. But he had never,
f