wife, Mr. Neville?" she exclaimed.

Neville took off his spectacles and polished them nervously.

"Yes, Britta--my wife!"

She looked at him in amazed silence. Neville went on rubbing his
glasses, and continued in rather dreamy, tremulous accents--

"Yes--I lost her years ago--I thought she was dead. But I found her--on
the stage of the Brilliant Theatre. I--I never expected--_that_! I would
rather she had died!" He paused and went on softly, "When I married her,
Britta, she was such a dear little girl,--so bright and pretty!--and
I--I fancied she was fond of me! Yes, I did,--of course, I was
foolish--I've always been foolish, I think. And when--when I saw her on
that stage I felt as if some one had struck me a hard blow--it seems as
if I'd been stunned ever since. And though she knows I'm in London, she
won't see me, Britta,--she won't let me speak to her even for a moment!
It's very hard! Sir Philip has tried his best to persuade her to see
me--he has talked to her and written to her about me; and that's not
all,--he has even tried to make her come back to me--but it's all no
use--and--and that's how all the mischief has arisen--do you see?"

Britta gazed at him still, with sympathy written on every line of her
face,--but a great load had been lifted from her mind by his words--she
began to understand everything.

"I'm so sorry for you, Mr. Neville!" she said. "But why didn't you tell
all this to the Froeken?"

"I _couldn't_!" murmured Neville desperately. "She was there that night
at the Brilliant,--and if you had seen how she looked when she saw--my
wife--appeared on the stage! So pained, so sorry, so ashamed! and she
wanted to leave the theatre at once. Of course, I ought to have told
her,--I wish I had--but--somehow, I never could." He paused again. "It's
all my stupidity, of course, Sir Philip is quite blameless--he has been
the kindest, the best of friends to me--" his voice trembled more and
more, and he could not go on. There was a silence of some minutes,
during which Britta appeared absorbed in meditation, and Neville
furtively wiped his eyes.

Presently he spoke again more cheerfully. "It'll soon be all right
again, Britta!" and he nodded encouragingly. "Sir Philip says her
ladyship has gone home to Norway, and he means to follow her to-night."

Britta nodded gravely, but heaved a deep sigh.

"And I posted her letter to her father!" she half murmured. "Oh, if I
had only thought or guessed why it