The girl poured him out a glass of wine and made him take it. If only she had known of this before Lady Chesterwood had left! Her heart beat like a sledge-hammer against her breast, and for the moment she could find no words; but she knew that her lover needed comfort, and that it was her duty to help him. “Your nerves are unstrung, dear,” she said, in a soothing voice. “You must go home soon and rest. I am sure you need not be alarmed, Lionel. The Bill will never be carried; it cannot, while there is justice in England. What man in his senses would counsel intoleration in these days? This is the age of freedom—of freedom in religious matters most of all.” “It is not the Jewish religion that Moore objects to so much as the Jewish race,” Montella replied, in a dull voice. “He is as rabid as it is possible for a Jew-baiter to be, and he has, unfortunately, such a convincing manner that there are few who can withstand him. Of course, he made a great deal of the Consolidated Trust smash and those processions of the Unemployed. Yet, as you say, the Bill is impracticable. I do not see how it is possible to banish the Jews. Where are they to go? The whole thing is monstrous—absurd!” “It is, and therefore you must not worry about it, Lal. You must laugh at it instead. The good-natured British Public will laugh, I am sure, when they read of it in the papers to-morrow. And now, dear, I am not going to talk to you any more to-night. You must go straight home to bed, and try to cool that burning forehead of yours.” He rose and drew her affectionately towards him. “My darling! You are brave enough to put courage into any man.” He sighed, and squaring his shoulders, added: “Well, if it’s fighting they want, we must fight to the death. But, Patricia, if by any horrible chance this Bill is passed, it will mean that I also am included under the ban. It will mean the emptying out of joy from my life—for it will mean separation from you.” “Never!” she exclaimed, almost before the words had passed his lips. “Your cause is mine, and not all the devilish designs of Athelstan Moore and his satellites shall come between us. If you are banished, then I shall be banished, too. Oh, Lionel, what is love worth if it fails at such a time!” She hid her face on his shoulder, her form shaken with heavy sobs; but she quickly recovered from her emotion, and regained her self-possession. “Mamie Chesterwood was here to-day,” she informed him, as he went towards the door. “She is our friend, Lionel, and has promised to stand by us through thick and thin.” “Has she, dear?” There was little hope in his voice. He did not seem to think the Countess would prove an ally of much importance. “There is more in her than we think,” Patricia added, more cheerfully. “I really believe she will be of use. She is one of those who have to be fully persuaded in their own minds before they will do anything.” Then she remembered that her lips were sealed.