It was night when Cyril Culverhouse answered Mr. Piper’s summons. He had been for one of his long rounds in outlying districts, and only came home at ten o’clock, to hear of the calamity at the Park. To Bella those hours of waiting had seemed endless. ‘If I die without seeing him, I am a lost creature,’ she said. ‘But, Bella, if there’s any weight upon your conscience, can’t you trust your husband?’ asked Mr. Piper. ‘Surely there’s no one with a better right to know.’ ‘It’s nothing that concerns you,’ answered Bella, impatiently. ‘You have found out the worst about me. This is a deeper wrong. This is something wicked that I did when I was a girl. It didn’t seem much to do, but it has weighed upon me ever since.’ Mr. Piper wondered at this confession. He had never seen any indication of a troubled conscience in his wife’s manner or conduct. Presently Mr. Culverhouse was announced. Mr. Piper went out into the corridor to receive him. ‘My wife is uneasy in her mind about something,’ he said. ‘I dare say she’d like to see you alone. Don’t be hard upon her, Mr. Culverhouse, if she has done anything wrong. She has only a few hours to live. She has thrown her foolish young life away to gratify the whim of the moment.’ ‘Hard upon her!’ exclaimed Cyril. ‘You need not fear.’ Cyril went alone into the apple-green bedroom. Mr. Piper walked up and down the corridor, waiting for the interview to be over. He was passing Miss Porkman’s door when Vanessa put her head out. ‘Oh, Mr. Piper, mayn’t I go to her?’ she asked. ‘The doctors have told me that they can’t save her. I feel so miserable. I feel as if it were my fault.’ ‘It’s everybody’s fault,’ said Mr. Piper. ‘We’ve all been fools. I indulged her like a fool, and she made a foolish use of my indulgence. See what it has led to--a life thrown away.’ ‘It’s too dreadful,’ said Vanessa, who had never before been face to face with the tragedy of life. ‘How did it happen?’ asked Mr. Piper. ‘You were with her, weren’t you?’