IV
Meanwhile, five minutes before this, Rachel had come in. She was told of the visits, and going swiftly to the little drawing-room upstairs had found Christopher.
She flung her arms around him and kissed him.
"Oh, dear Dr. Chris!"
But he stopped her.
"Quick, Rachel. I may only have a minute.... I've got to speak to you."
Instantly she drew back, her grave eyes watching him and her hands, as of old, nervously moving against her dress.
"What is it?"
"It's just this. The Duchess may ring at any moment—she's been with him a long while. Look here, Rachel, she knows about Breton—that you've been to see him, that you've written to him——"
"She told you?"
"Yes—long ago—But never mind that now, although I'd have spoken to you of it before if you'd let me—But the only thing that matters is that I believe—I can't of course be sure—but I believe that she's come now to tell Roddy."
Rachel drew a long breath. "Oh!" she said and, stiffly standing there, showed in her eyes the pitch of feeling to which now her grandmother had brought her.
Christopher went on urgently—"I've been praying for you to come in. I hoped you'd have come half an hour ago. There's no time now, but—it's simply this, Rachel dear—tell Roddy everything——"
She broke in passionately. "You know it's all right, Dr. Chris—you've trusted me?"
"Absolutely," he said gravely. "But it simply is that Roddy mustn't be there imagining things, waiting, wondering.... Perhaps he won't ask you—Perhaps he will—But, anyway, tell him—tell him at once everything...."
The bell rang, he went across to her, kissed her, and then went downstairs.
She stood there waiting, without moving except to strip off, very slowly, her black gloves. Her eyes were fixed upon the door.
She heard the door downstairs open, the stumbling steps; once she caught the Duchess's voice and at that she drew in her breath. Then the hall door closed, but, for a long time afterwards, she stood there without moving.