Vivien looked at them in some curiosity, but without any suspicion. A thought struck her. "I believe I caught you talking about me," she said with a laugh. "And not much good about me either--because you both look a little flustered." Wellgood stepped out from behind his bush. "I think I can tell you what they've been talking about, Vivien, and I will. I've had the pleasure of listening to the last part of it." He stood there stern and threatening, struggling to keep within bounds the rage that nearly mastered him--the rage of the deceived lover trying still to masquerade as a father's indignation. The father should have sent his daughter away; the lover was minded at all costs to heap shame and humiliation on his favoured rival and on the woman who had deceived him. "Not before Vivien!" Harry cried impulsively. Vivien turned eyes of wonder on him for a moment, then the old look of remoteness settled on her face. She stood holding on to the door, for support perhaps, looking now at none of them, looking out into the night. "This man, your lover, was making love to this woman, whom I employed to look after you." He laughed scornfully. "Oh yes, a rare fool I look! But don't they look fools too? They're nicely caught at last. I daresay they've had a good run, a lot of 'I love you's,' a lot of kisses like the one I saw to-night. But they're caught at last." Vivien spoke in a low voice. "Is it true, Isobel?" For Harry she had neither words nor eyes. "It's true," said Isobel; now her voice was calm. "There's no use saying anything about it." "And you let him do it!" cried Wellgood, his voice rising in passion. "You her friend, you her guardian, you who--" His words seemed nearly to choke him. He turned his fury on to Harry. "You scoundrel, you shall pay for this! I'll make Meriton too hot to hold you! You try to swagger about this place as you've been doing, you try to open your mouth in public, and I'll be there with this pretty story! I'll make an end of your chances in Meriton! You shall find out what it is to make a fool of Mark Wellgood! Yes, you shall pay for it!" From the beginning Harry had found nothing to say; what was there? His face was sunk in a dull despair, his eyes set on the ground. He shrugged his shoulders now, murmuring hoarsely, "You must do as you like." Suddenly Isobel spoke out. "This is your doing. If you had let me go, as I wanted to, this wouldn't have happened. You suspected it, and yet you kept me here. I begged you to let me go. You wouldn't. I tried to do the honest thing--to end it all and go. You wouldn't let me--you know why." "You wanted to go, Isobel?" asked Vivien gently. "And father wouldn't let you?" "Yes. If he likes to tell you the reason, he can. But I say this is his doing--his! He's been waiting and watching for it. Well, he's got it now, and he must deal with it."