Berenice was a little annoyed. It was the hour before dressing for dinner which she always devoted to repose--the hour saved from the stress of the day which had helped towards keeping her the young woman she certainly was. Yet Borrowdean's message was too urgent to ignore. She suffered her maid to wrap some sort of loose gown about her, and received him in her own study. "My dear Sir Leslie," she said, a little reproachfully, "was this really necessary? You know that after half-past six I am practically a person not existing--until dinner time!" "I should not have ventured to intrude upon you," Borrowdean said, quickly, "if the circumstances had not been altogether exceptional. I know your habits too well. I have just come from Mannering." "From Mannering--yes!" "Duchess," Borrowdean said, "have you--forgive a blunt question--but have you any influence over him?" Berenice was silent for several moments. "You ask me rather a hard question," she said. "A few months ago I think that I should have said yes. To-day--I am not sure. What has happened? Is anything wrong with him?" "Nothing, except that he seems to have gone mad," Borrowdean said, bitterly. "I went to him to-day to get him to fix the dates for his meetings at Glasgow and Leeds. What do you think his answer was?" "Don't tell me that he wants to back out!" Berenice exclaimed. "Don't tell me that!" "Almost as bad! He told me quite coolly that he was not prepared finally to set out his views upon the question until he had completed a course of personal investigation in some of the Northern centres of trade, to which he had committed himself." Berenice looked bewildered. "But what on earth does he mean?" she exclaimed. "Surely he knows all that there is to be known. His mastery of statistics is something wonderful." "What he means no man save himself can even surmise," Borrowdean answered. "He told me that he had had information of a state of distress in some of our Northern towns--Newcastle and Hull he mentioned, and some of the Lancashire places--which had simply appalled him. He was determined to verify it personally, and to commit himself to nothing further until he had done so. And he even asked me if I could not find him a pair until the end of the session, so that he could get away at once. I was simply dumbfounded. A pair for Mannering!" Berenice rose to her feet. She walked up and down the little room restlessly. "Sir Leslie," she said at last, "I am not sure whether I have what you would call any influence over Mr. Mannering now or not. I might have had but for you!" "For me?" Borrowdean exclaimed. "Yes. It was you who told me of--of--that woman," she said, haughtily, but with the colour rising almost to her temples. "After that, of course things were different between us. We are scarcely upon such terms at present as would justify my interference."