Isobel indulged in a rather forced smile; it struck Mary that there was something a little enigmatic in that smile. Of course, Lord Saxham had blundered as usual, he had revealed the truth just a little too nakedly. Isobel was reckoning up her welcome at its true value, so far as her host was concerned. This, of course, Isobel did, so did her father. But she was too sensible a girl to be offended. She, was, perhaps, a little disappointed that she did not owe this swift change of policy to her true friend. Lady Mary. She thought a little before she spoke. "Are you quite sure that Guy would come back, if I implored him to do so," she said at length. She turned towards Lord Saxham with a pleasant smile that robbed her words of any subtle impertinence. "Guy has always told me that there is a strong vein of obstinacy in the Rossett family. Perhaps,"--and here a proud light came into her eyes--"I could influence him more than anybody else in the world." Mary looked imploringly at her. "And, Isobel, you will use that influence of course?" "I will tell you something that, up to the present, I have only told my father," replied the girl quietly. "I knew of all this some little time ago. My cousin, Maurice Farquhar, has a great friend, half Spanish, half English, who is also a journalist. He told my cousin that danger was threatening Guy. Maurice told me. You can guess what I felt. Guy is as dear to me as he is to you." "Of course, there is no need to tell us that," cried Lady Mary hastily. "My first impulse was to write to Guy, tell him what I had heard, and implore him to leave this dangerous country. I consulted my father. I did not write that letter. Many a night I have lain awake, and in the morning resolved to write it. It is still unwritten." The Earl's face bore a puzzled expression. Lady Mary seemed somewhat bewildered too. General Clandon alone displayed no emotion. "I don't understand," breathed Mary softly. "Oh, can't you see?" cried Isobel quickly. "Suppose Guy yielded to my prayers, and seized some excuse to come back! Might he not in after years reproach me for having induced him to play a coward's part? Surely you can understand what I feel." And, in one swift moment of comprehension, the worldly and opportunist Earl and his far nobler daughter understood. Lady Mary looked at her father with a triumphant smile. She had gauged Isobel aright from the first. Gone for ever the dishonouring suspicions of a designing young woman seeking to make her fortune by a wealthy marriage. It was all too obvious. With Guy's departure from Spain, Isobel had everything to gain. With his sojourn in that dangerous country she stood to lose everything. "Whether I marry Guy or not," went on the low, sweet voice, breaking at the end into a little sob, "his honour is my first consideration." The General's deep tones broke the intense silence that succeeded those few words.