His conviction was
ill-founded.

CHAPTER IV

For a good three minutes after the departure of William Roper the Lord
Loudwater walked up and down the smoking-room. His redly-glinting eyes
still rolled in a terrifying fashion, and still every few seconds he
snapped his fingers in the throes of an effort to make up his raging mind
whether to begin by an attack on his wife or on Colonel Grey. He could
not remember ever having been so angry in his life; now and again his red
eyes saw red.

Then of a sudden he made up his mind that he was at the moment
angrier with Colonel Grey. He would deal with him first. Olivia could
wait. He hurried out to the stables and bellowed for a horse with
such violence that two startled grooms saddled one for him in little
more than a minute.

He made no attempt to think what he would say to Colonel Grey. He was
too angry. He galloped the two miles to the "Cart and Horses" at
Bellingham, where Colonel Grey was staying, in order to restore his
health and to fish.

At the door of the inn he bellowed: "Ostler! Ostler!" Then without
waiting to see whether an ostler came, he threw the reins on his horse's
neck, left it to its own devices, strode into the tap-room, and bellowed
to the affrighted landlady, Mrs. Turnbull, to take him straight to
Colonel Grey. Trembling, she led him upstairs to Grey's sitting-room on
the first floor. Before she could knock, he opened the door, bounced
through it, and slammed it.

Grey was sitting at the other side of the table, looking through a book
of flies. He appeared to be quite unmoved by the sudden entry of the
infuriated nobleman, or by his raucous bellow:

"So here you are, you infernal scoundrel!"

He looked at him with a cold, distasteful eye, and said in a clear, very
unpleasant voice: "Another time knock before you come into my room."

Lord Loudwater had not expected to be received in this fashion; dimly he
had seen Grey cowering.

He paused, then said less loudly: "Knock? Hey? Knock? Knock at the door
of an infernal scoundrel like you?" His voice began to gather volume
again. "Likely I should take the trouble! I know all about your
scoundrelly game."

Colonel Grey remembered that Olivia had said that she proposed to deny
the kiss, and his course was quite clear to him.

"I don't know whether you're drunk, or mad," he said in a quiet,
contemptuous voice.

This again was not what Lord Loudwater had expected. But Grey was a
strong be