”—
his
wife
turned
hastily
—
“
We
must
not
detain
Mrs.
Barnes
longer
!
”
The
two
ladies
looked
at
the
Archdeacon
—
the
god
of
their
idolatry
;
then
at
Daphne
.
Hurriedly
,
like
birds
frightened
by
a
shot
,
they
crossed
the
room
and
just
touched
their
hostess
's
hand
;
the
Archdeacon
,
making
up
for
their
precipitancy
by
a
double
dose
of
dignity
,
bowed
himself
out
;
the
door
closed
behind
them
.
“
Daphne
!
—
my
dear
!
what
is
the
matter
?
”
cried
Lady
Barnes
,
in
dismay
.
“
He
spoke
to
me
impertinently
about
my
country
!
”
said
Daphne
,
turning
upon
her
,
her
black
eyes
blazing
,
her
cheeks
white
with
excitement
.
“
The
Archdeacon
!
—
he
is
always
so
polite
.
”
“
He
talked
like
a
fool
—
about
things
he
does
n't
understand
!
”
was
Daphne
's
curt
reply
,
as
she
gathered
up
her
hat
and
some
letters
,
and
moved
towards
the
door
.
“
About
what
?
My
dear
Daphne
!
He
could
not
possibly
have
meant
to
offend
you
!
Could
he
,
Mr.
French
?
”
Lady
Barnes
turned
plaintively
towards
her
very
uncomfortable
companions
.
Daphne
confronted
her
.
“
If
he
chooses
to
think
America
immoral
and
degraded
because
American
divorce
laws
are
different
from
the
English
laws
,
let
him
think
it
!
—
but
he
has
no
business
to
air
his
views
to
an
American
—
at
a
first
visit
,
too
!
”
said
Daphne
passionately
,
and
,
drawing
herself
up
,
she
swept
out
of
the
room
,
leaving
the
others
dumbfoundered
.
“
Oh
dear
!
oh
dear
!
”
wailed
Lady
Barnes
.
“
And
the
Archdeacon
is
so
important
!
Daphne
might
have
been
rude
to
anybody
else
—
but
not
to
the
Archdeacon
!
”
“
How
did
they
manage
to
get
into
such
a
subject
—
so
quickly
?
”
asked
Elsie
in
bewilderment
.
“
I
suppose
he
took
it
for
granted
that
Daphne
agreed
with
him
!
All
decent
people
do
.
”
Lady
Barnes
's
wrath
was
evident
—
so
was
her
indiscretion
.
Elsie
French
applied
herself
to
soothing
her
,
while
Herbert
French
disappeared
into
the
garden
with
a
book
.
His
wife
,
however
,
presently
observed
from
the
drawing-room
that
he
was
not
reading
.
He
was
pacing
the
lawn
,
with
his
hands
behind
him
,
and
his
eyes
on
the
grass
.
The
slight
,
slowly-moving
figure
stood
for
meditation
,
and
Elsie
French
knew
enough
to
understand
that
the
incidents
of
the
afternoon
might
well
supply
any
friend
of
Roger
Barnes
's
with
food
for
meditation
.
Herbert
had
not
been
in
the
drawing-room
when
Mrs.
Fairmile
was
calling
,
but
no
doubt
he
had
met
her
in
the
hall
when
she
was
on
her
way
to
her
carriage
.
Meanwhile
Daphne
,
in
her
own
room
,
was
also
employed
in
meditation
.
She
had
thrown
herself
,
frowning
,
into
a
chair
beside
a
window
which
overlooked
the
park
.
The
landscape
had
a
gentle
charm
—
spreading
grass
,
low
hills
,
and
scattered
woods
—
under
a
warm
September
sun
.
But
it
had
no
particular
accent
,
and
Daphne
thought
it
both
tame
and
depressing
;
like
an
English
society
made
up
of
Archdeacon
Mountfords
and
their
womenkind
!
What
a
futile
,
irritating
man
!
—
and
what
dull
creatures
were
the
wife
and
sister
!
—
mere
echoes
of
their
lord
and
master
.
She
had
behaved
badly
,
of
course
;
in
a
few
days
she
supposed
the
report
of
her
outburst
would
be
all
over
the
place
.
She
did
not
care
.
Even
for
Roger
's
sake
she
was
not
going
to
cringe
to
these
poor
provincial
standards
.
And
all
the
time
she
knew
very
well
that
it
was
not
the
Archdeacon
and
his
fatuities
that
were
really
at
fault
.
The
afternoon
had
been
decided
not
by
the
Mountfords
'
call
,
but
by
that
which
had
preceded
it
.
CHAPTER
VI
MRS.
BARNES
,
however
,
made
no
immediate
reference
to
the
matter
which
was
in
truth
filling
her
mind
.
She
avoided
her
husband
and
mother-in-law
,
both
of
whom
were
clearly
anxious
to
capture
her
attention
;
and
,
by
way
of
protecting
herself
from
them
,
she
spent
the
late
afternoon
in
looking
through
Italian
photographs
with
Dr.
Lelius
.
But
about
seven
o'clock
Roger
found
her
lying
on
her
sofa
,
her
hands
clasped
behind
her
head
—
frowning
—
the
lips
working
.
He
came
in
rather
consciously
,
glancing
at
his
wife
in
hesitation
.
“
Are
you
tired
,
Daphne
?
”
“
No.
”
“
A
penny
for
your
thoughts
,
then
!
”
He
stooped
over
her
and
looked
into
her
eyes
.
Daphne
made
no
reply
.
She
continued
to
look
straight
before
her
.
“
What
's
the
matter
with
you
?
”
he
said
,
at
last
.
“
I
'm
wondering
,
”
said
Daphne
slowly
,
“
how
many
more
cousins
and
great
friends
you
have
,
that
I
know
nothing
about
.
I
think
another
time
it
would
be
civil
—
just
that
!
—
to
give
me
a
word
of
warning
.
”
Roger
pulled
at
his
moustache
.
“
I
had
n't
an
idea
she
was
within
a
thousand
miles
of
this
place
!
But
,
if
I
had
,
I
could
n't
have
imagined
she
would
have
the
face
to
come
here
!
”
“
Who
is
she
?
”
With
a
sudden
movement
Daphne
turned
her
eyes
upon
him
.
“
Well
,
there
's
no
good
making
any
bones
about
it
,
”
said
the
man
,
flushing
.
“
She
's
a
girl
I
was
once
engaged
to
—
for
a
very
short
time
,
”
he
added
hastily
.
“
It
was
the
week
before
my
father
died
,
and
our
smash
came
.
As
soon
as
it
came
she
threw
me
over
.
”
Daphne
's
intense
gaze
,
under
the
slightly
frowning
brows
,
disquieted
him
.
“
How
long
were
you
engaged
to
her
?
”
“
Three
weeks
.
”
“
Had
she
been
staying
here
before
that
?
”
“
Yes
—
she
often
stayed
here
.
Daphne
!
do
n't
look
like
that
!
She
treated
me
abominably
;
and
before
I
married
you
I
had
come
not
to
care
twopence
about
her
.
”
“
You
did
care
about
her
when
you
proposed
to
me
?
”
“
No
!
—
not
at
all
!
Of
course
,
when
I
went
out
to
New
York
I
was
sore
,
because
she
had
thrown
me
over
.
”
“
And
I
”
—
Daphne
made
a
scornful
lip
—
“
was
the
feather-bed
to
catch
you
as
you
fell
.
It
never
occurred
to
you
that
it
might
have
been
honourable
to
tell
me
?
”
“
Well
,
I
do
n't
know
—
I
never
asked
you
to
tell
me
of
your
affairs
!
”
Roger
,
his
hands
in
his
pockets
,
looked
round
at
her
with
an
awkward
laugh
.
“
I
told
you
everything
!
”
was
the
quick
reply
—
“
everything
.
”
Roger
uncomfortably
remembered
that
so
indeed
it
had
been
;
and
moreover
that
he
had
been
a
good
deal
bored
at
the
time
by
Daphne
's
confessions
.
He
had
not
been
enough
in
love
with
her
—
then
—
to
find
them
of
any
great
account
.
And
certainly
it
had
never
occurred
to
him
to
pay
them
back
in
kind
.
What
did
it
matter
to
her
or
to
anyone
that
Chloe
Morant
had
made
a
fool
of
him
?
His
recollection
of
the
fooling
,
at
the
time
he
proposed
to
Daphne
,
was
still
so
poignant
that
it
would
have
been
impossible
to
speak
of
it
.
And
within
a
few
months
afterwards
he
had
practically
forgotten
it
—
and
Chloe
too
.
Of
course
he
could
not
see
her
again
,
for
the
first
time
,
without
being
“
a
bit
upset
”
;
mostly
,
indeed
,
by
the
boldness
—
the
brazenness
—
of
her
behaviour
.
But
his
emotions
were
of
no
tragic
strength
,
and
,
as
Lady
Barnes
had
complained
to
Mrs.
French
,
he
was
now
honestly
in
love
with
Daphne
and
his
child
.
So
that
he
had
nothing
but
impatience
and
annoyance
for
the
recollection
of
the
visit
of
the
afternoon
;
and
Daphne
's
attitude
distressed
him
.
Why
,
she
was
as
pale
as
a
ghost
!
His
thoughts
sent
Chloe
Fairmile
to
the
deuce
.
“
Look
here
,
dear
!
”
he
said
,
kneeling
down
suddenly
beside
his
wife
—
“
do
n't
you
get
any
nonsense
into
your
head
.
I
'm
not
the
kind
of
fellow
who
goes
philandering
after
a
woman
when
she
's
jilted
him
.
I
took
her
measure
,
and
after
you
accepted
me
I
never
gave
her
another
thought
.
I
forgot
her
,
dear
—
bag
and
baggage
!
Kiss
me
,
Daphne
!
”
But
Daphne
still
held
him
at
bay
.
“
How
long
were
you
engaged
to
her
?
”
she
repeated
.
“
I
've
told
you
—
three
weeks
!
”
said
the
man
,
reluctantly
.
“
How
long
had
you
known
her
?
”
“
A
year
or
two
.
She
was
a
distant
cousin
of
father
's
.
Her
father
was
Governor
of
Madras
,
and
her
mother
was
dead
.
She
could
n't
stand
India
for
long
together
,
and
she
used
to
stay
about
with
relations
.
Why
she
took
a
fancy
to
me
I
ca
n't
imagine
.
She
's
so
booky
and
artistic
,
and
that
kind
of
thing
,
that
I
never
understood
half
the
time
what
she
was
talking
about
.
Now
you
're
just
as
clever
,
you
know
,
darling
,
but
I
do
understand
you
.
”
Roger
's
conscience
made
a
few
dim
remonstrances
.
It
asked
him
whether
in
fact
,
standing
on
his
own
qualifications
and
advantages
of
quite
a
different
kind
,
he
had
not
always
felt
himself
triumphantly
more
than
a
match
for
Chloe
and
her
cleverness
.
But
he
paid
no
heed
to
them
.
He
was
engaged
in
stroking
Daphne
's
fingers
and
studying
the
small
set
face
.
“
Whom
did
she
marry
?
”
asked
Daphne
,
putting
an
end
to
the
stroking
.
“
A
fellow
in
the
army
—
Major
Fairmile
—
a
smart
,
popular
sort
of
chap
.
He
was
her
father
's
aide-de-camp
when
they
married
—
just
after
we
did
—
and
they
've
been
in
India
,
or
Egypt
,
ever
since
.
They
do
n't
get
on
,
and
I
suppose
she
comes
and
quarters
herself
on
the
old
Duchess
—
as
she
used
to
on
us
.
”
“
You
seem
to
know
all
about
her
!
Yes
,
I
remember
now
,
I
've
heard
people
speak
of
her
to
you
.
Mrs.
Fairmile
—
Mrs.
Fairmile
—
yes
,
I
remember
,
”
said
Daphne
,
in
a
brooding
voice
,
her
cheeks
becoming
suddenly
very
red
.
“
Your
uncle
—
in
town
—
mentioned
her
.
I
did
n't
take
any
notice
.
”
“
Why
should
you
?
She
does
n't
matter
a
fig
,
either
to
you
or
to
me
!
”
“
It
matters
to
me
very
much
that
these
people
who
spoke
of
her
—
your
uncle
and
the
others
—
knew
what
I
did
n't
know
!
”
cried
Daphne
,
passionately
.
She
stared
at
Roger
,
strangely
conscious
that
something
epoch-making
and
decisive
had
happened
.
Roger
had
had
a
secret
from
her
all
these
years
—
that
was
what
had
happened
;
and
now
she
had
discovered
it
.
That
he
could
have
a
secret
from
her
,
however
,
was
the
real
discovery
.
She
felt
a
fierce
resentment
,
and
yet
a
kind
of
added
respect
for
him
.
All
the
time
he
had
been
the
private
owner
of
thoughts
and
recollections
that
she
had
no
part
in
,
and
the
fact
roused
in
her
tumult
and
bitterness
.
Nevertheless
the
disturbance
which
it
produced
in
her
sense
of
property
,
the
shock
and
anguish
of
it
,
brought
back
something
of
the
passion
of
love
she
had
felt
in
the
first
year
of
their
marriage
.
During
these
three
years
she
had
more
than
once
shown
herself
insanely
jealous
for
the
merest
trifles
.
But
Roger
had
always
laughed
at
her
,
and
she
had
ended
by
laughing
at
herself
.
Yet
all
the
time
he
had
had
this
secret
.
She
sat
looking
at
him
hard
with
her
astonishing
eyes
;
and
he
grew
more
and
more
uneasy
.
“
Well
,
some
of
them
knew
,
”
he
said
,
answering
her
last
reproach
.
“
And
they
knew
that
I
was
jolly
well
quit
of
her
!
I
suppose
I
ought
to
have
told
you
,
Daphne
—
of
course
I
ought
—
I
'm
sorry
.
But
the
fact
was
I
never
wanted
to
think
of
her
again
.
And
I
certainly
never
want
to
see
her
again
!
Why
,
in
the
name
of
goodness
,
did
you
accept
that
tea-fight
?
”
“
Because
I
mean
to
go
.
”
“
Then
you
'll
have
to
go
without
me
,
”
was
the
incautious
reply
.
“
Oh
,
so
you
're
afraid
of
meeting
her
!
I
shall
know
what
to
think
,
if
you
do
n't
go
.
”
Daphne
sat
erect
,
her
hands
clasped
round
her
knees
.
Roger
made
a
sound
of
wrath
,
and
threw
his
cigarette
into
the
fire
.
Then
,
turning
round
again
to
face
her
,
he
tried
to
control
himself
.
“
Look
here
,
Daphne
,
do
n't
let
us
quarrel
about
this
.
I
'll
tell
you
everything
you
want
to
know
—
the
whole
beastly
story
.
But
it
ca
n't
be
pleasant
to
me
to
meet
a
woman
who
treated
me
as
she
did
—
and
it
ought
n't
to
be
pleasant
to
you
either
.
It
was
like
her
audacity
to
come
this
afternoon
.
”
“
She
simply
wants
to
get
hold
of
you
again
!
”
Daphne
sprang
up
as
she
spoke
with
a
violent
movement
,
her
face
blazing
.
“
Nonsense
!
she
came
out
of
nothing
in
the
world
but
curiosity
,
and
because
she
likes
making
people
uncomfortable
.
She
knew
very
well
mother
and
I
did
n't
want
her
!
”
But
the
more
he
tried
to
persuade
her
the
more
determined
was
Daphne
to
pay
the
promised
visit
,
and
that
he
should
pay
it
with
her
.
He
gave
way
at
last
,
and
she
allowed
herself
to
be
soothed
and
caressed
.
Then
,
when
she
seemed
to
have
recovered
herself
,
he
gave
her
a
tragi-comic
account
of
the
three
weeks
'
engagement
,
and
the
manner
in
which
it
had
been
broken
off
:
caustic
enough
,
one
might
have
thought
,
to
satisfy
the
most
unfriendly
listener
.
Daphne
heard
it
all
quietly
.
Then
her
maid
came
,
and
she
donned
a
tea-gown
.
When
Roger
returned
,
after
dressing
,
he
found
her
still
abstracted
.
“
I
suppose
you
kissed
her
?
”
she
said
abruptly
,
as
they
stood
by
the
fire
together
.
He
broke
out
in
laughter
and
annoyance
,
and
called
her
a
little
goose
,
with
his
arm
round
her
.
But
she
persisted
.
“
You
did
kiss
her
?
”
“
Well
,
of
course
I
did
!
What
else
is
one
engaged
for
?
”
“
I
'm
certain
she
wished
for
a
great
deal
of
kissing
!
”
said
Daphne
,
quickly
.
Roger
was
silent
.
Suddenly
there
swept
through
him
the
memory
of
the
scene
in
the
orchard
,
and
with
it
an
admission
—
wrung
,
as
it
were
,
from
a
wholly
unwilling
self
—
that
it
had
remained
for
him
a
scene
unique
and
unapproached
.
In
that
one
hour
the
“
muddy
vesture
”
of
common
feeling
and
desire
that
closed
in
his
manhood
had
taken
fire
and
burnt
to
a
pure
flame
,
fusing
,
so
it
seemed
,
body
and
soul
.
He
had
not
thought
of
it
for
years
,
but
now
that
he
was
made
to
think
of
it
,
the
old
thrill
returned
—
a
memory
of
something
heavenly
,
ecstatic
,
far
transcending
the
common
hours
and
the
common
earth
.
The
next
moment
he
had
thrown
the
recollection
angrily
from
him
.
Stooping
to
his
wife
,
he
kissed
her
warmly
.
“
Look
here
,
Daphne
!
I
wish
you
'd
let
that
woman
alone
!
Have
I
ever
looked
at
anyone
but
you
,
old
girl
,
since
that
day
at
Mount
Vernon
?
”
Daphne
let
him
hold
her
close
;
but
all
the
time
,
thoughts
—
ugly
thoughts
—
like
“
little
mice
stole
in
and
out
.
”
The
notion
of
Roger
and
that
woman
,
in
the
past
,
engaged
—
always
together
,
in
each
other
's
arms
,
tormented
her
unendurably
.
She
did
not
,
however
,
say
a
word
to
Lady
Barnes
on
the
subject
.
The
morning
following
Mrs.
Fairmile
's
visit
that
lady
began
a
rather
awkward
explanation
of
Chloe
Fairmile
's
place
in
the
family
history
,
and
of
the
reasons
for
Roger
's
silence
and
her
own
.
Daphne
took
it
apparently
with
complete
indifference
,
and
managed
to
cut
it
short
in
the
middle
.
Nevertheless
she
brooded
over
the
whole
business
;
and
her
resentment
showed
itself
,
first
of
all
,
in
a
more
and
more
drastic
treatment
of
Heston
,
its
pictures
,
decorations
and
appointments
.
Lady
Barnes
dared
not
oppose
her
any
more
.
She
understood
that
if
she
were
thwarted
,
or
even
criticised
,
Daphne
would
simply
decline
to
live
there
,
and
her
own
link
with
the
place
would
be
once
more
broken
.
So
she
withdrew
angrily
from
the
scene
,
and
tried
not
to
know
what
was
going
on
.
Meanwhile
a
note
of
invitation
had
been
addressed
to
Daphne
by
the
Duchess
,
and
had
been
accepted
;
Roger
had
been
reminded
,
at
the
point
of
the
bayonet
,
that
go
he
must
;
and
Dr.
Lelius
had
transferred
himself
from
Heston
to
Upcott
,
and
the
companionship
of
Mrs.
Fairmile
.
It
was
the
last
day
of
the
Frenches
'
visit
.
Roger
and
Herbert
French
had
been
trying
to
get
a
brace
or
two
of
partridges
on
the
long-neglected
and
much-poached
estate
;
and
on
the
way
home
French
expressed
a
hope
that
,
now
they
were
to
settle
at
Heston
,
Roger
would
take
up
some
of
the
usual
duties
of
the
country
gentleman
.
He
spoke
in
the
half-jesting
way
characteristic
of
the
modern
Mentor
.
The
old
didactics
have
long
gone
out
of
fashion
,
and
the
moralist
of
to-day
,
instead
of
preaching
,
ore
retundo
,
must
only
“
hint
a
fault
and
hesitate
dislike
.
”
But
,
hide
it
as
he
might
,
there
was
an
ethical
and
religious
passion
in
French
that
would
out
,
and
was
soon
indeed
to
drive
him
from
Eton
to
a
town
parish
.
He
had
been
ordained
some
two
years
before
this
date
.
It
was
this
inborn
pastoral
gift
,
just
as
real
as
the
literary
or
artistic
gifts
,
and
containing
the
same
potentialities
of
genius
as
they
,
which
was
leading
him
to
feel
a
deep
anxiety
about
the
Barnes
's
ménage
.
It
seemed
to
him
necessary
that
Daphne
should
respect
her
husband
;
and
Roger
,
in
a
state
of
complete
idleness
,
was
not
altogether
respect-able
.
So
,
with
much
quizzing
of
him
as
“
the
Squire
,
”
French
tried
to
goad
his
companion
into
some
of
a
Squire
's
duties
.
“
Stand
for
the
County
Council
,
old
fellow
,
”
he
said
.
“
Your
father
was
on
it
,
and
it
'll
give
you
something
to
do
.
”
To
his
surprise
Roger
at
once
acquiesced
.
He
was
striding
along
in
cap
and
knickerbockers
,
his
curly
hair
still
thick
and
golden
on
his
temples
,
his
clear
skin
flushed
with
exercise
,
his
general
physical
aspect
even
more
splendid
than
it
had
been
in
his
first
youth
.
Beside
him
,
the
slender
figure
and
pleasant
irregular
face
of
Herbert
French
would
have
been
altogether
effaced
and
eclipsed
but
for
the
Eton
master
's
two
striking
points
:
prematurely
white
hair
,
remarkably
thick
and
abundant
;
and
very
blue
eyes
,
shy
,
spiritual
and
charming
.
“
I
do
n't
mind
,
”
Roger
was
saying
,
“
if
you
think
they
'd
have
me
.
Beastly
bore
,
of
course
!
But
one
's
got
to
do
something
for
one
's
keep
.
”
He
looked
round
with
a
smile
,
slightly
conscious
.
The
position
he
had
occupied
for
some
three
years
,
of
the
idle
and
penniless
husband
dependent
on
his
wife
's
dollars
,
was
not
,
he
knew
,
an
exalted
one
in
French
's
eyes
.
“
Oh
!
you
'll
find
it
quite
tolerable
,
”
said
French
.
“
Roads
and
schools
do
as
well
as
anything
else
to
break
one
's
teeth
on
.
We
shall
see
you
a
magistrate
directly
.
”
Roger
laughed
.
“
That
would
be
a
good
one
!
—
I
say
,
you
know
,
I
hope
Daphne
's
going
to
like
Heston
.
”
French
hoped
so
too
,
guardedly
.
“
I
hear
the
Archdeacon
got
on
her
nerves
yesterday
?
”
He
looked
at
his
companion
with
a
slight
laugh
and
a
shrug
.
“
That
does
n't
matter
.
”
“
I
do
n't
know
.
He
's
rather
a
spiteful
old
party
.
And
Daphne
's
accustomed
to
be
made
a
lot
of
,
you
know
.
In
London
there
's
always
a
heap
of
people
making
up
to
her
—
and
in
Paris
,
too
.
She
talks
uncommon
good
French
—
learnt
it
in
the
convent
.
I
do
n't
understand
a
word
of
what
they
talk
about
—
but
she
's
a
queen
—
I
can
tell
you
!
She
does
n't
want
Archdeacons
prating
at
her
.
”
“
It
'll
be
all
right
when
she
knows
the
people
.
”
“
Of
course
,
mother
and
I
get
along
here
all
right
.
We
've
got
to
pick
up
the
threads
again
;
but
we
do
know
all
the
people
,
and
we
like
the
old
place
for
grandfather
's
sake
,
and
all
the
rest
of
it
.
But
there
is
n't
much
to
amuse
Daphne
here
.
”
“
She
'll
be
doing
up
the
house
.
”
“
And
offending
mother
all
the
time
.
I
say
,
French
,
do
n't
you
think
art
's
an
awful
nuisance
!
When
I
hear
Lelius
yarning
on
about
quattro-cento
and
cinque-cento
,
I
could
drown
myself
.
No
!
I
suppose
you
're
tarred
with
the
same
brush
.
”
Roger
shrugged
his
shoulders
.
“
Well
,
I
do
n't
care
,
so
long
as
Daphne
gets
what
she
wants
,
and
the
place
suits
the
child
.
”
His
ruddy
countenance
took
a
shade
of
anxiety
.
French
inquired
what
reason
there
was
to
suppose
that
Beatty
would
not
thrive
perfectly
at
Heston
.
Roger
could
only
say
that
the
child
had
seemed
to
flag
a
little
since
their
arrival
.
Appetite
not
quite
so
good
,
temper
difficult
,
and
so
on
.
Their
smart
lady-nurse
was
not
quite
satisfied
.
“
And
I
've
been
finding
out
about
doctors
here
,
”
the
young
father
went
on
,
knitting
his
brows
:
“
blokes
,
most
of
them
,
and
such
old
blokes
!
I
would
n't
trust
Beatty
to
one
of
them
.
But
I
've
heard
of
a
new
man
at
Hereford
—
awfully
good
,
they
say
—
a
wunner
!
And
after
all
a
motor
would
soon
run
him
out
!
”
He
went
on
talking
eagerly
about
the
child
,
her
beauty
,
her
cleverness
,
the
plans
Daphne
had
for
her
bringing
up
,
and
so
on
.
No
other
child
ever
had
been
,
ever
could
be
,
so
fetching
,
so
“
cunning
,
”
so
lovely
,
such
a
duck
!
The
Frenches
,
indeed
,
possessed
a
boy
of
two
,
reputed
handsome
.
Roger
wished
to
show
himself
indulgent
to
anything
that
might
be
pleaded
for
him
.
“
Dear
little
fellow
!
”
—
of
course
.
But
Beatty
!
Well
!
it
was
surprising
,
indeed
,
that
he
should
find
himself
the
father
of
such
a
little
miracle
;
he
did
n't
know
what
he
'd
done
to
deserve
it
.
Herbert
French
smiled
as
he
walked
.
“
Of
course
,
I
hope
there
'll
be
a
boy
,
”
said
Roger
,
stopping
suddenly
to
look
at
Heston
Park
,
half
a
mile
off
,
emerging
from
the
trees
.
“
Daphne
would
like
a
boy
—
so
should
I
,
and
particularly
now
that
we
've
got
the
old
house
back
again
.
”
He
stood
and
surveyed
it
.
French
noticed
in
the
growing
manliness
of
his
face
and
bearing
the
signs
of
things
and
forces
ancestral
,
of
those
ghostly
hands
stretching
from
the
past
that
in
a
long
settled
society
tend
to
push
a
man
into
his
right
place
and
keep
him
there
.
The
Barnes
family
was
tolerable
,
though
not
distinguished
.
Roger
's
father
's
great
temporary
success
in
politics
and
business
had
given
it
a
passing
splendour
,
now
quenched
in
the
tides
of
failure
and
disaster
which
had
finally
overwhelmed
his
career
.
Roger
evidently
did
not
want
to
think
much
about
his
Barnes
heritage
.
But
it
was
clear
also
that
he
was
proud
of
the
Trescoes
;
that
he
had
fallen
back
upon
them
,
so
to
speak
.
Since
the
fifteenth
century
there
had
always
been
a
Trescoe
at
Heston
;
and
Roger
had
already
taken
to
browsing
in
county
histories
and
sorting
family
letters
.
French
foresaw
a
double-barrelled
surname
before
long
—
perhaps
,
just
in
time
for
the
advent
of
the
future
son
and
heir
who
was
already
a
personage
in
the
mind
,
if
not
yet
positively
expected
.
“
My
dear
fellow
,
I
hope
Mrs.
Barnes
will
give
you
not
one
son
,
but
many
!
”
he
said
,
in
answer
to
his
companion
's
outburst
.
“
They
're
wanted
nowadays
.
”
Roger
nodded
and
smiled
,
and
then
passed
on
to
the
discussion
of
county
business
and
county
people
.
He
had
already
,
it
seemed
,
informed
himself
to
a
rather
surprising
degree
.
The
shrewd
,
upright
county
gentleman
was
beginning
to
emerge
,
oddly
,
from
the
Apollo
.
The
merits
and
absurdities
of
the
type
were
already
there
,
indeed
,
in
posse
.
How
persistent
was
the
type
,
and
the
instinct
!
A
man
of
Roger
's
antecedents
might
seem
to
swerve
from
the
course
;
but
the
smallest
favourable
variation
of
circumstances
,
and
there
he
was
again
on
the
track
,
trotting
happily
between
the
shafts
.
“
If
only
the
wife
plays
up
!
”
thought
French
.
The
recollection
of
Daphne
,
indeed
,
emerged
simultaneously
in
both
minds
.
“
Daphne
,
you
know
,
wo
n't
be
able
to
stand
this
all
the
year
round
,
”
said
Roger
.
“
By
George
,
no
!
not
with
a
waggon-load
of
Leliuses
!
”
Then
,
with
a
sudden
veer
and
a
flush
:
“
I
say
,
French
,
do
you
know
what
sort
of
state
the
Fairmile
marriage
is
in
by
now
?
I
think
that
lady
might
have
spared
her
call
—
do
n't
you
?
”
French
kept
his
eyes
on
the
path
.
It
was
the
first
time
,
as
far
as
he
was
concerned
,
that
Roger
had
referred
to
the
incident
.
Yet
the
tone
of
the
questioner
implied
a
past
history
.
It
was
to
him
,
indeed
,
that
Roger
had
come
,
in
the
first
bitterness
of
his
young
grief
and
anger
,
after
the
“
jilting
.
”
French
had
tried
to
help
him
,
only
to
find
that
he
was
no
more
a
match
for
the
lady
than
the
rest
of
the
world
.
As
to
the
call
and
the
invitation
,
he
agreed
heartily
that
a
person
of
delicacy
would
have
omitted
them
.
The
Fairmile
marriage
,
it
was
generally
rumoured
,
had
broken
down
hopelessly
.
“
Faults
on
both
sides
,
of
course
.
Fairmile
is
and
always
was
an
unscrupulous
beggar
!
He
left
Eton
just
as
you
came
,
but
I
remember
him
well
.
”
Roger
began
a
sentence
to
the
effect
that
if
Fairmile
had
no
scruples
of
his
own
,
Chloe
would
scarcely
have
taught
him
any
;
but
he
checked
himself
abruptly
in
the
middle
,
and
the
two
men
passed
to
other
topics
.
French
began
to
talk
of
East
London
,
and
the
parish
he
was
to
have
there
.
Roger
,
indifferent
at
first
,
did
not
remain
so
.
He
did
not
profess
,
indeed
,
any
enthusiasm
of
humanity
;
but
French
found
in
him
new
curiosities
.
That
children
should
starve
,
and
slave
,
and
suffer
—
that
moved
him
.
He
was
,
at
any
rate
,
for
hanging
the
parents
.
The
day
of
the
Upcott
visit
came
,
and
,
in
spite
of
all
recalcitrance
,
Roger
was
made
to
mount
the
motor
beside
his
wife
.
Lady
Barnes
had
entirely
refused
to
go
,
and
Mr.
and
Mrs.
French
had
departed
that
morning
for
Eton
.
As
the
thing
was
inevitable
,
Roger
's
male
philosophy
came
to
his
aid
.
Better
laugh
and
have
done
with
it
.
So
that
,
as
he
and
Daphne
sped
along
the
autumn
lanes
,
he
talked
about
anything
and
everything
.
He
expressed
,
for
instance
,
his
friendly
admiration
for
Elsie
French
.
“
She
's
just
the
wife
for
old
Herbert
—
and
,
by
George
,
she
's
in
love
with
him
!
”
“
A
great
deal
too
much
in
love
with
him
!
”
said
Daphne
,
sharply
.
The
day
was
chilly
,
with
a
strong
east
wind
blowing
,
and
Daphne
's
small
figure
and
face
were
enveloped
in
a
marvellous
wrap
,
compounded
in
equal
proportions
portions
of
Russian
sables
and
white
cloth
.
It
had
not
long
arrived
from
Worth
,
and
Roger
had
allowed
himself
some
jibes
as
to
its
probable
cost
.
Daphne
's
“
simplicity
,
”
the
pose
of
her
girlhood
,
was
in
fact
breaking
down
in
all
directions
.
The
arrogant
spending
instinct
had
gained
upon
the
moderating
and
self-restraining
instinct
.
The
results
often
made
Barnes
uncomfortable
.
But
he
was
inarticulate
,
and
easily
intimidated
—
by
Daphne
.
With
regard
to
Mrs.
French
,
however
,
he
took
up
the
cudgels
at
once
.
Why
should
n't
Elsie
adore
her
man
,
if
it
pleased
her
?
Old
Herbert
was
worth
it
.
Women
,
said
Daphne
,
should
never
put
themselves
wholly
in
a
man
's
power
.
Moreover
,
wifely
adoration
was
particularly
bad
for
clergymen
,
who
were
far
too
much
inclined
already
to
give
themselves
airs
.
“
I
say
!
Herbert
never
gives
himself
airs
!
”
“
They
both
did
—
to
me
.
They
have
quite
different
ways
from
us
,
and
they
make
one
feel
it
.
They
have
family
prayers
—
we
do
n't
.
They
have
ascetic
ideas
about
bringing
up
children
—
I
have
n't
.
Elsie
would
think
it
self-indulgent
and
abominable
to
stay
in
bed
to
breakfast
—
I
do
n't
.
The
fact
is
,
all
her
interests
and
ideals
are
quite
different
from
mine
,
and
I
am
rather
tired
of
being
made
to
feel
inferior
.
”
“
Daphne
!
what
rubbish
!
I
'm
certain
Elsie
French
never
had
such
an
idea
in
her
head
.
She
's
awfully
soft
and
nice
;
I
never
saw
a
bit
of
conceit
in
her
.
”
“
She
's
soft
outside
and
steel
inside
.
Well
,
never
mind
!
we
do
n't
get
on
.
She
's
the
old
America
,
I
'm
the
new
,
”
said
Daphne
,
half
frowning
,
half
laughing
;
“
and
I
'm
as
good
as
she
.
”
“
You
're
a
very
good-looking
woman
,
anyway
,
”
said
Roger
,
admiring
the
vision
of
her
among
the
warm
browns
and
shining
whites
of
her
wrap
.
“
Much
better-looking
than
when
I
married
you
.
”
He
slipped
an
arm
under
the
cloak
and
gave
her
small
waist
a
squeeze
.
Daphne
turned
her
eyes
upon
him
.
In
their
black
depths
his
touch
had
roused
a
passion
which
was
by
no
means
all
tenderness
.
There
was
in
it
something
threatening
,
something
intensely
and
inordinately
possessive
.
“
That
means
that
you
did
n't
think
me
good-looking
at
all
,
as
compared
with
—
Chloe
?
”
she
said
insistently
.
“
Really
,
Daphne
!
”
—
Roger
withdrew
his
arm
with
a
rather
angry
laugh
—
“
the
way
you
twist
what
one
says
!
I
declare
I
wo
n't
make
you
any
more
pretty
speeches
for
an
age
.
”
Daphne
scarcely
replied
;
but
there
dawned
on
her
face
the
smile
—
melting
,
provocative
,
intent
—
which
is
the
natural
weapon
of
such
a
temperament
.
With
a
quick
movement
she
nestled
to
her
husband
's
side
,
and
Roger
was
soon
appeased
.
The
visit
which
followed
always
counted
in
Roger
Barnes
's
memory
as
the
first
act
of
the
tragedy
,
the
first
onset
of
the
evil
that
engulfed
him
.
They
found
the
old
Duchess
,
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
and
Dr.
Lelius
,
alone
.
The
Duchess
had
been
the
penniless
daughter
of
an
Irish
clergyman
,
married
en
secondes
noces
for
her
somewhat
queer
and
stimulating
personality
,
by
an
epicurean
duke
,
who
,
after
having
provided
the
family
with
a
sufficient
store
of
dull
children
by
an
aristocratic
mother
,
thought
himself
at
liberty
,
in
his
declining
years
,
to
please
himself
.
He
had
left
her
the
dower-house
—
small
but
delicately
Jacobean
—
and
she
was
now
nearly
as
old
as
the
Duke
had
been
when
he
married
her
.
She
was
largely
made
,
shapeless
,
and
untidy
.
Her
mannish
face
and
head
were
tied
up
in
a
kind
of
lace
coif
;
she
had
long
since
abandoned
all
thought
of
a
waist
;
and
her
strong
chin
rested
on
an
ample
bosom
.
As
soon
as
Mrs.
Barnes
was
seated
near
her
hostess
,
Lelius
—
who
had
an
intimate
acquaintance
,
through
their
pictures
,
with
half
the
great
people
of
Europe
—
began
to
observe
the
Duchess
's
impressions
.
Amused
curiosity
,
first
.
Evidently
Daphne
represented
to
her
one
of
the
queer
,
crude
types
that
modern
society
is
always
throwing
up
on
the
shores
of
life
—
like
strange
beasts
from
deep-sea
soundings
.
An
American
heiress
,
half
Spanish
—
South-American
Spanish
—
with
no
doubt
a
dash
of
Indian
;
no
manners
,
as
Europe
understands
them
;
unlimited
money
,
and
absurd
pretensions
—
so
Chloe
said
—
in
the
matter
of
art
;
a
mixture
of
the
pedant
and
the
parvenue
:
where
on
earth
had
young
Barnes
picked
her
up
!
It
was
in
some
such
way
,
no
doubt
—
so
Lelius
guessed
—
that
the
Duchess
's
thoughts
were
running
.
Meanwhile
Mrs.
Barnes
was
treated
with
all
possible
civility
.
The
Duchess
inquired
into
the
plans
for
rebuilding
Heston
;
talked
of
her
own
recollections
of
the
place
,
and
its
owners
;
hoped
that
Mrs.
Barnes
was
pleased
with
the
neighbourhood
;
and
finally
asked
the
stock
question
,
“
And
how
do
you
like
England
?
”
Daphne
looked
at
her
coolly
.
“
Moderately
!
”
she
said
,
with
a
smile
,
the
colour
rising
in
her
cheek
as
she
became
aware
,
without
looking
at
them
,
that
Roger
and
Mrs.
Fairmile
had
adjourned
to
the
farther
end
of
the
large
room
,
leaving
her
to
the
Duchess
and
Lelius
.
The
small
eyes
above
the
Duchess
's
prominent
nose
sparkled
.
“
Only
moderately
?
”
The
speaker
's
tone
expressed
that
she
had
been
for
once
taken
by
surprise
.
“
I
'm
extremely
sorry
we
do
n't
please
you
,
Mrs.
Barnes
.
”
“
You
see
,
my
expectations
were
so
high
.
”
“
Is
it
the
country
,
or
the
climate
,
or
the
people
,
that
wo
n't
do
?
”
inquired
the
Duchess
,
amused
.
“
I
suppose
it
would
be
civil
to
say
the
climate
,
”
replied
Daphne
,
laughing
.
Whereupon
the
Duchess
saw
that
her
visitor
had
made
up
her
mind
not
to
be
overawed
.
The
great
lady
summoned
Dr.
Lelius
to
her
aid
,
and
she
,
the
German
,
and
Daphne
,
kept
up
a
sparring
conversation
,
in
which
Mrs.
Barnes
,
driven
on
by
a
secret
wrath
,
showed
herself
rather
noisier
than
Englishwomen
generally
are
.
She
was
a
little
impertinent
,
the
Duchess
thought
,
decidedly
aggressive
,
and
not
witty
enough
to
carry
it
off
.
Meanwhile
,
Daphne
had
instantly
perceived
that
Mrs.
Fairmile
and
Roger
had
disappeared
into
the
conservatory
;
and
though
she
talked
incessantly
through
their
absence
,
she
felt
each
minute
of
it
.
When
they
came
back
for
tea
,
she
imagined
that
Roger
looked
embarrassed
,
while
Mrs.
Fairmile
was
all
gaiety
,
chatting
to
her
companion
,
her
face
raised
to
his
,
in
the
manner
of
one
joyously
renewing
an
old
intimacy
.
As
they
slowly
advanced
up
the
long
room
,
Daphne
felt
it
almost
intolerable
to
watch
them
,
and
her
pulses
began
to
race
.
Why
had
she
never
been
told
of
this
thing
?
That
was
what
rankled
;
and
the
Southern
wildness
in
her
blood
sent
visions
of
the
past
and
terrors
of
the
future
hurrying
through
her
brain
,
even
while
she
went
on
talking
fast
and
recklessly
to
the
Duchess
.
At
tea-time
conversation
turned
on
the
various
beautiful
things
which
the
room
contained
—
its
Nattiers
,
its
Gobelins
,
its
two
dessus
de
portes
by
Boucher
,
and
its
two
cabinets
,
of
which
one
had
belonged
to
Beaumarchais
and
the
other
to
the
Appartement
du
Dauphin
at
Versailles
.
Daphne
restrained
herself
for
a
time
,
asked
questions
,
and
affected
no
special
knowledge
.
Then
,
at
a
pause
,
she
lifted
a
careless
hand
,
inquiring
whether
“
the
Fragonard
sketch
”
opposite
were
not
the
pendant
of
one
—
she
named
it
—
at
Berlin
.
“
Ah-h-h
!
”
said
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
with
a
smiling
shake
of
the
head
,
“
how
clever
of
you
!
But
that
's
not
a
Fragonard
.
I
wish
it
were
.
It
's
an
unknown
.
Dr.
Lelius
has
given
him
a
name
.
”
And
she
and
Lelius
fell
into
a
discussion
of
the
drawing
,
that
soon
left
Daphne
behind
.
Native
taste
of
the
finest
,
mingled
with
the
training
of
a
lifetime
,
the
intimate
knowledge
of
collections
of
one
who
had
lived
among
them
from
her
childhood
—
these
things
had
long
since
given
Chloe
Fairmile
a
kind
of
European
reputation
.
Daphne
stumbled
after
her
,
consumed
with
angry
envy
,
the
précieuse
in
her
resenting
the
easy
mastery
of
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
and
the
wife
in
her
offended
by
the
strange
beauty
,
the
soft
audacities
of
a
woman
who
had
once
,
it
seemed
,
held
Roger
captive
,
and
would
,
of
course
,
like
to
hold
him
captive
again
.
She
burned
in
some
way
to
assert
herself
,
the
imperious
will
chafing
at
the
slender
barrier
of
self-control
.
And
some
malicious
god
did
,
in
fact
,
send
an
opportunity
.
After
tea
,
when
Roger
,
in
spite
of
efforts
to
confine
himself
to
the
Duchess
,
had
been
once
more
drawn
into
the
orbit
of
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
as
she
sat
fingering
a
cigarette
between
the
two
men
,
and
gossiping
of
people
and
politics
,
the
butler
entered
,
and
whispered
a
message
to
the
Duchess
.
The
mistress
of
the
house
laughed
.
“
Chloe
!
who
do
you
think
has
called
?
Old
Marcus
,
of
South
Audley
Street
.
He
's
been
at
Brendon
House
—
buying
up
their
Romneys
,
I
should
think
.
And
as
he
was
passing
here
,
he
wished
to
show
me
something
.
Shall
we
have
him
in
?
”
“
By
all
means
!
The
last
time
he
was
here
he
offered
you
four
thousand
pounds
for
the
blue
Nattier
,
”
said
Chloe
,
with
a
smile
,
pointing
to
the
picture
.
The
Duchess
gave
orders
;
and
an
elderly
man
,
with
long
black
hair
,
swarthy
complexion
,
fine
eyes
,
and
a
peaked
forehead
,
was
admitted
,
and
greeted
by
her
,
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
and
Dr.
Lelius
as
an
old
acquaintance
.
He
sat
down
beside
them
,
was
given
tea
,
and
presented
to
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Barnes
.
Daphne
,
who
knew
the
famous
dealer
by
sight
and
reputation
perfectly
well
,
was
piqued
that
he
did
not
recognise
her
.
Yet
she
well
remembered
having
given
him
an
important
commission
not
more
than
a
year
before
her
marriage
.
As
soon
as
a
cup
of
tea
had
been
despatched
,
Marcus
came
to
the
business
.
He
drew
a
small
leather
case
out
of
the
bag
he
had
brought
into
the
room
with
him
;
and
the
case
,
being
opened
,
disclosed
a
small
but
marvellous
piece
of
Sèvres
.
“
There
!
”
he
said
,
pointing
triumphantly
to
a
piece
on
the
Duchess
's
chimney-piece
.
“
Your
Grace
asked
me
—
oh
!
ten
years
ago
—
and
again
last
year
—
to
find
you
the
pair
of
that
.
Now
—
you
have
it
!
”
He
put
the
two
together
,
and
the
effect
was
great
.
The
Duchess
looked
at
it
with
greed
—
the
greed
of
the
connoisseur
.
But
she
shook
her
head
.
“
Marcus
,
I
have
no
money
.
”
“
Oh
!
”
He
protested
,
smiling
and
shrugging
his
shoulders
.
“
And
I
know
you
want
a
brigand
's
price
for
it
.
”
“
Oh
,
nothing
—
nothing
at
all
.
”
The
Duchess
took
it
up
,
and
regretfully
turned
it
round
and
round
.
“
A
thousand
,
Marcus
?
”
she
said
,
looking
up
.
He
laughed
,
and
would
not
reply
.
“
That
means
more
,
Marcus
:
how
do
you
imagine
that
an
old
woman
like
me
,
with
only
just
enough
for
bread
and
butter
,
can
waste
her
money
on
Sèvres
?
”
He
grinned
.
She
put
it
down
resolutely
.
“
No
!
I
've
got
a
consumptive
nephew
with
a
consumptive
family
.
He
ought
to
have
been
hung
for
marrying
,
but
I
've
got
to
send
them
all
to
Davos
this
winter
.
No
,
I
ca
n't
,
Marcus
;
I
ca
n't
—
I
'm
too
poor
.
”
But
her
eyes
caressed
the
shining
thing
.
Daphne
bent
forward
.
“
If
the
Duchess
has
really
made
up
her
mind
,
Mr.
Marcus
,
I
will
take
it
.
It
would
just
suit
me
!
”
Marcus
started
on
his
chair
.
“
Pardon
,
Madame
!
”
he
said
,
turning
hastily
to
look
at
the
slender
lady
in
white
,
of
whom
he
had
as
yet
taken
no
notice
.
“
We
have
the
motor
.
We
can
take
it
with
us
,
”
said
Daphne
,
stretching
out
her
hand
for
it
triumphantly
.
“
Madame
,
”
said
Marcus
,
in
some
agitation
,
“
I
have
not
the
honour
.
The
price
—
”
“
The
price
does
n't
matter
,
”
said
Daphne
,
smiling
.
“
You
know
me
quite
well
,
Mr.
Marcus
.
Do
you
remember
selling
a
Louis
Seize
cabinet
to
Miss
Floyd
?
”
“
Ah
!
”
The
dealer
was
on
his
feet
in
a
moment
,
saluting
,
excusing
himself
.
Daphne
heard
him
with
graciousness
.
She
was
now
the
centre
of
the
situation
:
she
had
asserted
herself
,
and
her
money
.
Marcus
outdid
himself
in
homage
.
Lelius
in
the
background
looked
on
,
a
sarcastic
smile
hidden
by
his
fair
moustache
.
Mrs.
Fairmile
,
too
,
smiled
;
Roger
had
grown
rather
hot
;
and
the
Duchess
was
frankly
annoyed
.
“
I
surrender
it
to
force
majeure
,
”
she
said
,
as
Daphne
took
it
from
her
.
“
Why
are
we
not
all
Americans
?
”
And
then
,
leaning
back
in
her
chair
,
she
would
talk
no
more
.
The
pleasure
of
the
visit
,
so
far
as
it
had
ever
existed
,
was
at
an
end
.
But
before
the
Barnes
motor
departed
homewards
,
Mrs.
Fairmile
had
again
found
means
to
carry
Roger
Barnes
out
of
sight
and
hearing
into
the
garden
.
Roger
had
not
been
able
to
avoid
it
;
and
Daphne
,
hugging
the
leather
case
,
had
,
all
the
same
,
to
look
on
.
When
they
were
once
more
alone
together
,
speeding
through
the
bright
sunset
air
,
each
found
the
other
on
edge
.
“
You
were
rather
rough
on
the
Duchess
,
Daphne
!
”
Roger
protested
.
“
It
was
n't
quite
nice
,
was
it
,
outbidding
her
like
that
in
her
own
house
?
”
Daphne
flared
up
at
once
,
declaring
that
she
wanted
no
lessons
in
deportment
from
him
or
anyone
else
,
and
then
demanding
fiercely
what
was
the
meaning
of
his
two
disappearances
with
Mrs.
Fairmile
.
Whereupon
Roger
lost
his
temper
still
more
decidedly
,
refusing
to
give
any
account
of
himself
,
and
the
drive
passed
in
a
continuous
quarrel
,
which
only
just
stopped
short
,
on
Daphne
's
side
,
of
those
outrageous
and
insulting
things
which
were
burning
at
the
back
of
her
tongue
,
while
she
could
not
as
yet
bring
herself
to
say
them
.
An
unsatisfactory
peace
was
patched
up
during
the
evening
.
But
in
the
dead
of
night
Daphne
sat
up
in
bed
,
looking
at
the
face
and
head
of
her
husband
beside
her
on
the
pillow
.
He
lay
peacefully
sleeping
,
the
noble
outline
of
brow
and
features
still
nobler
in
the
dim
light
which
effaced
all
the
weaker
,
emptier
touches
.
Daphne
felt
rising
within
her
that
mingled
passion
of
the
jealous
woman
,
which
is
half
love
,
half
hate
,
of
which
she
had
felt
the
first
stirrings
in
her
early
jealousy
of
Elsie
Maddison
.
It
was
the
clutch
of
something
racial
and
inherited
—
a
something
which
the
Northerner
hardly
knows
.
She
had
felt
it
before
on
one
or
two
occasions
,
but
not
with
this
intensity
.
The
grace
of
Chloe
Fairmile
haunted
her
memory
,
and
the
perfection
,
the
corrupt
perfection
of
her
appeal
to
men
,
men
like
Roger
.
She
must
wring
from
him
—
she
must
and
would
—
a
much
fuller
history
of
his
engagement
.
And
of
those
conversations
in
the
garden
,
too
.
It
stung
her
to
recollect
that
,
after
all
,
he
had
given
her
no
account
of
them
.
She
was
very
sure
they
had
not
been
ordinary
conversations
!
—
Mrs
.
Fairmile
was
not
the
person
to
waste
her
time
in
chit-chat
.
A
gust
of
violence
swept
through
her
.
She
had
given
Roger
everything
—
money
,
ease
,
amusement
.
Where
would
he
have
been
without
her
?
And
his
mother
,
too
?
—
tiresome
,
obstructive
woman
!
For
the
first
time
that
veil
of
the
unspoken
,
that
mist
of
loving
illusion
which
preserves
all
human
relations
,
broke
down
between
Daphne
and
her
marriage
.
Her
thoughts
dwelt
,
in
a
vulgar
detail
,
on
the
money
she
had
settled
upon
Roger
—
on
his
tendencies
to
extravagance
—
his
happy-go-lucky
self-confident
ways
.
He
would
have
been
a
pauper
but
for
her
;
but
now
that
he
had
her
money
safe
,
without
a
word
to
her
of
his
previous
engagement
,
no
doubt
he
and
Mrs.
Fairmile
supposed
they
might
do
as
they
pleased
.
The
heat
and
corrosion
of
this
idea
spread
through
her
being
,
and
the
will
made
no
fight
against
it
.
CHAPTER
VII
“
YOU
'RE
off
to
the
meet
?
”
“
I
am
.
Look
at
the
day
!
”
Chloe
Fairmile
,
who
was
standing
in
her
riding-habit
at
the
window
of
the
Duchess
's
morning-room
,
turned
to
greet
her
hostess
.
A
mild
November
sun
shone
on
the
garden
and
the
woods
,
and
Chloe
's
face
—
the
more
exquisite
as
a
rule
for
its
slight
,
strange
withering
—
had
caught
a
freshness
from
the
morning
.
The
Duchess
was
embraced
,
and
bore
it
;
she
herself
never
kissed
anybody
.
“
You
always
look
well
,
my
dear
,
in
a
habit
,
and
you
know
it
.
Tell
me
what
I
shall
do
with
this
invitation
.
”
“
From
Lady
Warton
?
May
I
look
?
”
Chloe
took
a
much
blotted
and
crossed
letter
from
the
Duchess
's
hand
.
“
What
were
her
governesses
about
?
”
said
the
Duchess
,
pointing
to
it
.
“
Really
—
the
education
of
our
class
!
Read
it
!
”
...
“
Can
I
persuade
you
to
come
—
and
bring
Mrs.
Fairmile
—
next
Tuesday
to
dinner
,
to
meet
Roger
Barnes
and
his
wife
?
I
groan
at
the
thought
,
for
I
think
she
is
quite
one
of
the
most
disagreeable
little
creatures
I
ever
saw
.
But
Warton
says
I
must
—
a
Lord-Lieutenant
ca
n't
pick
and
choose
!
—
and
people
as
rich
as
they
are
have
to
be
considered
.
I
ca
n't
imagine
why
it
is
she
makes
herself
so
odious
.
All
the
Americans
I
ever
knew
I
have
liked
particularly
.
It
is
,
of
course
,
annoying
that
they
have
so
much
money
—
but
Warton
says
it
is
n't
their
fault
—
it
's
Protection
,
or
something
of
the
kind
.
But
Mrs.
Barnes
seems
really
to
wish
to
trample
on
us
.
She
told
Warton
the
other
day
that
his
tapestries
—
you
know
,
those
we
're
so
proud
of
—
that
they
were
bad
Flemish
copies
of
something
or
other
—
a
set
belonging
to
a
horrid
friend
of
hers
,
I
think
.
Warton
was
furious
.
And
she
's
made
the
people
at
Brendon
love
her
for
ever
by
insisting
that
they
have
now
ruined
all
their
pictures
without
exception
,
by
the
way
they
've
had
them
restored
—
et
cetera
,
et
cetera
.
She
really
makes
us
feel
her
millions
—
and
her
brains
—
too
much
.
We
're
paupers
,
but
we
're
not
worms
.
Then
there
's
the
Archdeacon
—
why
should
she
fall
foul
of
him
?
He
tells
Warton
that
her
principles
are
really
shocking
.
She
told
him
she
saw
no
reason
why
people
should
stick
to
their
husbands
or
wives
longer
than
it
pleased
them
—
and
that
in
America
nobody
did
!
He
does
n't
wish
Mrs.
Mountford
to
see
much
of
her
;
—
though
,
really
,
my
dear
,
I
do
n't
think
Mrs.
M
.
is
likely
to
give
him
trouble
—
do
you
?
And
I
hear
,
of
course
,
that
she
thinks
us
all
dull
and
stuck-up
,
and
as
ignorant
as
savages
.
It
's
so
odd
she
should
n't
even
want
to
be
liked
!
—
a
young
woman
in
a
strange
neighbourhood
.
But
she
evidently
does
n't
,
a
bit
.
Warton
declares
she
's
already
tired
of
Roger
—
and
she
's
certainly
not
nice
to
him
.
What
can
be
the
matter
?
Anyway
,
dear
Duchess
,
do
come
and
help
us
through
.
”
“
What
,
indeed
,
can
be
the
matter
?
”
repeated
Chloe
lightly
,
as
she
handed
back
the
letter
.
“
Angela
Warton
never
knows
anything
.
But
there
's
not
much
need
for
you
to
ask
,
my
dear
,
”
said
the
Duchess
quietly
.
Mrs.
Fairmile
turned
an
astonished
face
.
“
Me
?
”
The
Duchess
,
more
bulky
,
shapeless
and
swathed
than
usual
,
subsided
on
a
chair
,
and
just
raised
her
small
but
sharp
eyes
on
Mrs.
Fairmile
.
“
What
can
you
mean
?
”
said
Chloe
,
after
a
moment
,
in
her
gayest
voice
.
“
I
ca
n't
imagine
.
And
I
do
n't
think
I
'll
try
.
”
She
stooped
and
kissed
the
untidy
lady
in
the
chair
.
The
Duchess
bore
it
again
,
but
the
lines
of
her
mouth
,
with
the
strong
droop
at
the
corners
,
became
a
trifle
grim
.
Chloe
looked
at
her
,
smiled
,
shook
her
head
.
The
Duchess
shook
hers
,
and
then
they
both
began
to
talk
of
an
engagement
announced
that
morning
in
The
Times
.
Mrs.
Fairmile
was
soon
riding
alone
,
without
a
groom
—
she
was
an
excellent
horsewoman
,
and
she
never
gave
any
unnecessary
trouble
to
her
friends
'
servants
—
through
country
lanes
chequered
with
pale
sun
.
As
for
the
Duchess
's
attack
upon
her
,
Chloe
smarted
.
The
Duchess
had
clearly
pulled
her
up
,
and
Chloe
was
not
a
person
who
took
it
well
.
If
Roger
's
American
wife
was
by
now
wildly
jealous
of
his
old
fiancée
,
whose
fault
was
it
?
Had
not
Mrs.
Barnes
herself
thrown
them
perpetually
together
?
Dinners
at
Upcott
!
—
invitations
to
Heston
!
—
a
resolute
frequenting
of
the
same
festal
gatherings
with
Mrs.
Fairmile
.
None
of
it
with
Roger
's
goodwill
,
or
his
mother
's
,
—
Chloe
admitted
it
.
It
had
been
the
wife
's
doing
—
all
of
it
.
There
had
been
even
—
rare
occurrences
—
two
or
three
balls
in
the
neighbourhood
.
Roger
hated
dancing
,
but
Daphne
had
made
him
go
to
them
all
.
Merely
that
she
might
display
her
eyes
,
her
diamonds
,
and
her
gowns
?
Not
at
all
.
The
real
psychology
of
it
was
plain
.
“
She
wishes
to
keep
us
under
observation
—
to
give
us
opportunities
—
and
then
torment
her
husband
.
Very
well
then
!
—
tu
l'as
voulu
,
Madame
!
”
As
to
the
“
opportunities
,
”
Chloe
coolly
confessed
to
herself
that
she
had
made
rather
a
scandalous
use
of
them
.
The
gossip
of
the
neighbourhood
had
been
no
doubt
a
good
deal
roused
;
and
Daphne
,
it
seemed
,
was
discontented
.
But
is
it
not
good
for
such
people
to
be
discontented
?
The
money
and
the
arrogance
of
Roger
's
wife
had
provoked
Roger
's
former
fiancée
from
the
beginning
;
the
money
to
envy
,
and
the
arrogance
to
chastisement
.
Why
not
?
What
is
society
but
a
discipline
?
As
for
Roger
,
who
is
it
says
there
is
a
little
polygamy
in
all
men
?
Anyway
,
a
man
can
always
—
nearly
always
—
keep
a
corner
for
the
old
love
,
if
the
new
love
will
let
him
.
Roger
could
,
at
any
rate
;
“
though
he
is
a
model
husband
,
far
better
than
she
deserves
,
and
anybody
not
a
fool
could
manage
him
.
”
It
was
a
day
of
physical
delight
,
especially
for
riders
.
After
a
warm
October
,
the
leaves
were
still
thick
on
the
trees
;
Nature
had
not
yet
resigned
herself
to
death
and
sleep
.
Here
and
there
an
oak
stood
,
fully
green
,
among
the
tawny
reds
and
golds
of
a
flaming
woodland
.
The
gorse
was
yellow
on
the
commons
;
and
in
the
damp
woody
ways
through
which
Chloe
passed
,
a
few
primroses
—
frail
,
unseasonable
blooms
—
pushed
their
pale
heads
through
the
moss
.
The
scent
of
the
beech-leaves
under
foot
;
the
buffeting
of
a
westerly
wind
;
the
pleasant
yielding
of
her
light
frame
to
the
movement
of
the
horse
;
the
glimpses
of
plain
that
every
here
and
there
showed
themselves
through
the
trees
that
girdled
the
high
ground
or
edge
along
which
she
rode
;
the
white
steam-wreath
of
a
train
passing
,
far
away
,
through
strata
of
blue
or
pearly
mist
;
an
old
windmill
black
in
the
middle
distance
;
villages
,
sheltering
among
their
hedges
and
uplands
;
a
sky
,
of
shadow
below
widely
brooding
over
earth
,
and
of
a
radiant
blue
flecked
with
white
cloud
above
:
—
all
the
English
familiar
scene
,
awoke
in
Chloe
Fairmile
a
familiar
sensuous
joy
.
Life
was
so
good
—
every
minute
,
every
ounce
of
it
!
—
from
the
Duchess
's
chef
to
these
ethereal
splendours
of
autumn
—
from
the
warm
bath
,
the
luxurious
bed
,
and
breakfast
,
she
had
but
lately
enjoyed
,
to
these
artistic
memories
that
ran
through
her
brain
,
as
she
glanced
from
side
to
side
,
reminded
now
of
Turner
,
now
of
De
Wint
,
revelling
in
the
complexity
of
her
own
being
.
Her
conscience
gave
her
no
trouble
;
it
had
never
been
more
friendly
.
Her
husband
and
she
had
come
to
an
understanding
;
they
were
in
truth
more
than
quits
.
There
was
to
be
no
divorce
—
and
no
scandal
.
She
would
be
very
prudent
.
A
man
's
face
rose
before
her
that
was
