Mrs. Delarayne's eyes suddenly flashed with fire, and she cowed him by a single glance. "Don't talk of things you understand so little," she snapped. "Lord Henry must at all costs be induced to remain in England,--that's your job. He must not go. And anyhow China is such a ridiculous place to go to. Nobody ever goes to China except missionaries. Of course the Chinese haven't any nerves, because they haven't any daughters--they kill them all. That's a very simple way of keeping your mental balance. I confess that the prospect of going to China is not an inviting one, and yet if Lord Henry goes, I don't see what other alternative we poor sufferers will have." Sir Joseph again glanced dubiously at the healthy woman beside him, and drummed his knees thoughtfully with his large fingers. "You know without me telling you," he observed at last, "that I'll do whatever you want. It's happened before and it'll happen again." And he rolled his bloodshot eyes as if to make it quite clear that for this great favour a great reward would be expected. Mrs. Delarayne examined him covertly and began to wonder with a sudden feeling of despair how such a creature could possibly hope to be a match for Lord Henry. "And if I do induce Lord Henry to remain in England,--what then?" the baronet demanded. The widow sighed. "You'll be a public benefactor," she said; "a blessing to your race." "I don't suppose there's much money, is there, in this trip to China?" he asked pompously. "And Lord Henry can't be a very rich man." "He's very poor," replied Mrs. Delarayne. Sir Joseph smiled knowingly and lay back amid the cushions with an air of perfect self-appreciation and confidence. "There's only one thing that great wealth cannot do, it seems to me," he said, smiling and making every kind of grimace indicative of the immense difficulty he was experiencing in not laughing at what was passing through his mind. Mrs. Delarayne dreaded the worst, but felt that not to press for enlightenment at this juncture would reveal an indifference which would prove unfavourable to her schemes. "And what is that?" she asked. "It cannot change a woman's fancy, of course!" Sir Joseph ejaculated, and laughed very violently indeed. "'Ave you caught my meaning?" he added, as his hilarity subsided. Mrs. Delarayne toyed with her book. "Come, come, Edith!" he pursued. "If I get Lord Henry to remain in London, as I've no doubt I shall,--what then?" He ogled her roguishly. Mrs. Delarayne tried, while smiling politely, to introduce as little encouragement as possible into her expression. "Between you and I," the baronet continued, "it isn't as if we had a whole lifetime before us. You may have,--I haven't. These delays are a little unwise at our time of life." He caught her hand and for some reason, possibly his great agitation, pressed her finger-nails deep into the convex bulb of his large hot thumb, as if he were intent upon testing their sharpness.