He walked out of the room in his weak-kneed way, huffily, and was gone. She stood listening there, until all echo of him, dandified, weak-kneed, had passed out of her ears. And when the world was become wholly silent, the tense mood passed. She sank to the seat of the sofa and bent her brows on the problem, what to do? Before her was blackness. No writing across the sullen sky. As she sat thus in the gloom, scowling at cruelty, a key turned in the lock outside, there was the loud slam of the outer door, a heavy step or so, and a man’s figure entered into the dusk of the room. “Eustace Lovegood!” she said hoarsely. “The good God must have sent you.” The big man started; took off his hat: “Bless my soul, Miss Whiffels, _you_ here! Mr. Doome has asked me to use his rooms--for a month.... But I did not know there was anyone--I mean, he--must have forgotten.” “No,” she said--“I have no business here--none. Eustace, I am a desperate woman. I don’t know--where--to go.” “My dear lady!” “Why should I show a modesty that I once had--a long while ago--quite some months now----” “My dear good----” “Listen, Eustace. I must state the indecent thing to somebody. This man has debauched me--body and soul----” “Good God! Bartholomew Doome?” “No, no. This Ffolliott person----” “Ffolliott?” His surprise was unmitigated. She laughed bitterly: “Yes--that is the worst part of my shame. It bleats in my ears just like that.” “But----” “Listen. He will not keep his bond--I cannot appeal to any sense of honour. He himself does not know how to spell the word.” “What! you are not married to him?” She smiled grimly: “No. My degradation has not sunk to that. He has not even the will nor the desire to support me even for a little while--until the child is born.” The big man frowned: “Oh, I do not think he is quite such an unmitigated cad as that!” She rose from the sofa wearily and went to the fireplace: “I should like some smallest proof,” she said--“for This is the father of--my--child.... Give me some smallest proof, Eustace, that this man has a shred of manhood--the least little frayed shred. I have made every appeal--appeals for enslavement which, if granted, would have bitten into me like the teeth of a dog. But, for the child’s sake, I held out my hand to be bitten, bared my breast, begged him to befoul me with his benefits!” She uttered a little harsh laugh: “I was saved the dog’s teeth of that ignominy,” she said. Lovegood had stood, pondering hard; he suddenly remembered a five-pound note which had been paid to him that day. He coughed: “Well, as it happens, he has given me rather an embarrassing task to fulfil,” he said. “He sends you some money by me--I wish my friends would not always give me their unpleasant duties to perform.” The big man tugged the crisp banknote out of his breast-pocket, and brought it to her. She took it; and crumpled it in her hand: