‘Well, did she think it possible?’ he asked at length. ‘Yes, she did. She said it would be very difficult, but the secret might be kept--if I were strong enough. And I _am_ strong enough--I _will_ be--’ ‘It doesn’t look like it,’ said Tarrant, taking the edge off his words with a smile. ‘I won’t come again in this way. Where have you been tonight?’ ‘Oh, with friends.’ ‘Which friends? where?’ He moved impatiently. ‘People you don’t know, Nancy, and wouldn’t care about if you did. Do you know what time it is?’ ‘Do tell me where you have been. It isn’t prying into your affairs. Your friends ought to be mine; at least, I mean, I ought to know their names, and something about them. Suppose I were to tell you I had been spending the evening with friends--’ ‘My dear girl, I shouldn’t ask a question, unless you invited it. However, it’s better to tell you that I have been making arrangements to sublet these chambers. I can’t afford to keep them, even if there were any use in it. Harvey Munden has introduced me to a man who is likely to relieve me of the burden. I shall warehouse my books and furniture--’ ‘Then you are going? Really going to leave England?’ He affected astonishment; in truth, nothing now could surprise him. ‘But wasn’t it all decided between us? Didn’t you repeat it in your letter?’ ‘Yes--I know--but I didn’t think it would come so soon.’ ‘We won’t talk about it to-night,’ said Tarrant firmly. ‘For one thing, there’s no time. Come closer to the fire, and get warm through; then I must see you home.’ Nancy hung her head. When, in a few moments, she looked up again, it was to say drily: ‘There’s no need for you to see me home.’ ‘I’m going to, at all events.’ ‘Why? You don’t care much about me. I might as well be run over--or anything--’ To this remark no sort of answer was vouchsafed. Nancy sat with her feet on the fender, and Tarrant kept up a great blaze with chips, which sputtered out their moisture before they began to crackle. He and she both seemed intent on this process of combustion. ‘Now you’re quite warm,’ said the young man, as if speaking to a child, ‘and it’s time to go.’ Nancy rose obediently, gazed at him with dreaming eyes, and suffered herself to be led away by the arm. In Chancery Lane, Tarrant hailed a crawling hansom. When they were driving rapidly southward, Nancy began to question him about the date of his departure; she learnt that he might be gone in less than a week. ‘If you could behave quietly and sensibly, we would have an evening to make final arrangements.’ ‘I can,’ she answered, with a calm that surprised him. ‘If you go without letting me see you again, I don’t know what I might do. But I can be as sensible as you are, if I’m treated fairly.’ He grasped her hand. ‘Remember, dear girl, that I have a good deal to worry me just now. Do you suppose I leave you with a light heart?’ ‘If you can persuade me that you care--’