r shoulders. Valgrand was standing, taking in every detail of the
squalid room in which he found himself with this woman whose wealth, and
taste, and sumptuous home at Neuilly were notorious.

"I must clear up this mystery," he thought, while he moved to the window
to see that it was shut, and searched about, in vain, for a little coal
to put upon the fire. While he was thus occupied Lady Beltham also rose,
and going to the table poured out two cups of tea.

"Perhaps this will warm us, in the absence of anything better," she
said, making an effort to seem more amiable. "I am afraid it is rather
strong, M. Valgrand; I hope you do not mind?" and, with a hand that
trembled as if it held a heavy weight, she brought one of the cups to
her guest.

"Tea never upsets me, madame," Valgrand replied as he took the cup.
"Indeed, I like it." He came to the table and picked up the basin filled
with castor sugar, making first as if to put some in her cup.

"Thanks, I never take sugar in tea," she said.

Valgrand made a little grimace. "I admire you, but I will not imitate
you," he said, and unceremoniously tipped a generous helping of the
sugar into his own cup.

Lady Beltham watched him with haggard eyes.

While they were sipping their tea, there was silence between them. Lady
Beltham went back to the sofa, and Valgrand took a chair quite close to
her. The conversation was certainly lacking in animation, he reflected
whimsically; would the lady succeed in reducing him to the level of
intelligence of a callow schoolboy? And she most certainly did seem to
be horribly upset. He raised his eyes to her and found that she was
gazing into infinity.

"One has got to draw upon psychology here," Valgrand mused. "It is not
me, myself, in whom this lovely creature takes any interest, or she
would not have desired me to come in these trappings that make me look
like Gurn; it's his skin that I must stop in! But what is the proper
attitude to adopt? The sentimental? Or the brutal? Or shall I appeal to
her proselytising mania, and do the repentant sinner act? I'll chance
it; here goes!" and he rose to his feet.

As he moved, Lady Beltham looked round, uneasy, frightened, almost
anguished: it seemed as though she realised that the moment had come for
extraordinary things to happen.

Valgrand began to speak as he did upon the stage, restraining his
effects at first and controlling his voice of set purpose to give full
effect to it later on