By this time her sprain was very much better, and with the driver's
help, and that of a walking stick, she managed to alight and limp
indoors. A minute later there was a tap at the door of "Mr. Vince's"
sitting' room, and in response to his "Come in," it was opened by the
landlady, who the same moment announced, "A lady to see you, sir."
Guy, who, with one leg thrown over the arm of his easy chair, was
indulging in an after luncheon cigar, sprang to his feet, and on
recognizing his visitor, which he did at the first glance, he stood
staring at her for some seconds with a dropped jaw and a face which
had faded to the color of an unripe lemon.
Mrs. Jenwyn waited till the door was shut behind the landlady before
she spoke. Then she said pleasantly:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ormsby. My intrusion upon you seems to have taken
you a little by surprise, which, perhaps, is hardly to be wondered at.
Still, although your natural timidity has hindered you from calling
upon us at Rosemount, I have no wish to appear unneighborly, and I
know of no reason why I should not call upon you. I trust that you
left them all well at Denham Lodge."
Guy's smile was not a pleasant one to see. Flinging away what was left
of his cigar, he said: "Will you not be seated, Mrs. Jenwyn? I may at
once confess that your visit is a surprise, but not, let me add, an
unwelcome one. May I be permitted to hope that Miss Drelincourt is
quite well?"
He felt that he must talk, but he hardly knew what to say. One of his
first thoughts at sight of her had been, "Can Anna have been such a
fool as to tell this woman that she has agreed to a secret marriage?"
It was a disquieting question.
"As you have had the pleasure of seeing Miss Drelincourt within the
last two or three hours, you are in a better position to judge of the
state of her health than I am, who have not seen her since breakfast
time."
This was not a very promising beginning, as Guy could not but admit.
"Hang it all!" he said to himself. "Where's the good of beating about
the bush? Some specific purpose has brought her here. What is it? The
sooner I find out the better."
After a brief pause, he said aloud: "I perceive, Mrs. Jenwyn, that you
are not unaware that Miss Drelincourt and I have seen each other?"
Mrs. Jenwyn's reply was a grave inclination of the head.
"We have met more than once--several times, in point of fact--at
Carthew Bay. I have no wish to deny that such is the case."
"It would be useless of you to attempt to do so."
"Am I right in assuming that your call upon me today is in reference
to those meetings?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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