tory. He was at once favoured with the further
parallel of the Girdlestones' coachman and, as the conversation drifted to
May, of the Nonconformist Minister's daughter and the Circus Proprietor.
All Mrs. Baxter's armoury of reminiscence was heartily at his service.

But No. 77 did not after all touch Sir Winterton very closely. His temper
had begun to recover and he had nearly forgiven Quisante when suddenly
Japhet Williams produced a far more severe and deadly shock. His action
was a bomb, and a bomb thrown from a hand which Moors End had been fain to
think was or might be friendly. Was not Japhet a neighbour, only two miles
off along the Henstead Road, and did not Lady Mildmay and Mrs. Williams,
religious differences notwithstanding, work together every year on the
Committee of the Cottage Gardens and Window-Boxes Show? Had not Japhet
himself been understood to be reconsidering his political opinions? There
was even more. The Sinnett affair was the one subject utterly forbidden,
most rigidly tabooed, at Moors End. All Sir Winterton's relatives,
friends, acquaintances, and dependents knew that well. Sir Winterton's
honour and temper had never been so wounded as over that affair. By
Japhet's hand it was dragged into light again; the odious thing became
once more the gossip of Henstead, once more a disgusting topic which it
was impossible wholly to ignore at Moors End. This was plain enough since,
on the morning after Japhet's question had been put, Lady Mildmay was
discussing the position with Mrs. Baxter in the morning-room, while the
Dean and Sir Winterton walked round and round the lawn in gloomy
conversation punctuated by gloomier silences.

What the actual history was Lady Mildmay's narrative showed pretty
accurately. Sir Winterton's predominant desires, to do the handsome thing
and to meet with pleasant looks, evidently had played a large part. Lady
Mildmay blushed a little and smiled as she began by observing that Sir
Winterton had distinguished the girl by some kind notice; he liked her, he
always liked nice-spoken nice-looking girls; for her sake and her mother's
(a very decent woman), he had forgiven Tom many irregularities. At last
his patience gave out and Tom was prosecuted; when arrested, Tom had tried
blackmail; Sir Winterton was not to be bullied, and Tom's speech from the
dock was no more than an outburst of defeated malice.

Then came on the scene Sir Winterton's kind heart and his predominant
desires