Lady Harman had a feeling that they were neither of them gaining any ground. She blamed herself for her lack of lucidity. She began again, taking up the matter at a fresh point. She said that her life at present wasn’t full, that it was only half a life, that it was just home and marriage and nothing else; he had his business, he went out into the world, he had politics and—“all sorts of things”; she hadn’t these interests; she had nothing in the place of them—— Sir Isaac closed this opening rather abruptly by telling her that she should count herself lucky she hadn’t, and again the conversation was suspended for a time. “But I want to know about these things,” she said. Sir Isaac took that musingly. “There’s things go on,” she said; “outside home. There’s social work, there’s interests——Am I never to take any part—in that?” Sir Isaac still reflected. “There’s one thing,” he said at last, “I want to know. We’d better have it out—_now_.” But he hesitated for a time. “Elly!” he blundered, “you aren’t—you aren’t getting somehow—not fond of me?” She made no immediate reply. “Look here!” he said in an altered voice. “Elly! there isn’t something below all this? There isn’t something been going on that I don’t know?” Her eyes with a certain terror in their depths questioned him. “Something,” he said, and his face was deadly white—“_Some other man, Elly?_” She was suddenly crimson, a flaming indignation. “Isaac!” she said, “what do you _mean_? How can you _ask_ me such a thing?” “If it’s that!” said Sir Isaac, his face suddenly full of malignant force, “I’ll——But I’d _kill_ you....” “If it isn’t that,” he went on searching his mind; “why should a woman get restless? Why should she want to go away from her husband, go meeting other people, go gadding about? If a woman’s satisfied, she’s satisfied. She doesn’t harbour fancies.... All this grumbling and unrest. Natural for your sister, but why should you? You’ve got everything a woman needs, husband, children, a perfectly splendid home, clothes, good jewels and plenty of them, respect! Why should you want to go out after things? It’s mere spoilt-childishness. Of course you want to wander out—and if there isn’t a man——” He caught her wrist suddenly. “There isn’t a man?” he demanded. “Isaac!” she protested in horror.