"Ah! I thought you would understand. Don't you see you are his only friend? More than that, you are the only man he ever speaks to. He is a hermit. Well, then, who else is there to reproach me to his ears? To put his own thoughts of me into words?"
"But what on earth do you want that done for?"
"It will compel him to defend me, first by lip, then by heart."
I confess I whistled.
"I felt it to be necessary to have this talk with you," went on Lady Helen. "Hitherto he has done all the reviling and you the defending of me. Is it not so?"
"You little witch."
"And that is not right, since it is he, and not you, who is my husband."
"Lady Helen, you are surely the cleverest woman in the world."
"I have thought the matter out," she answered, with a sad little smile. "Is it wonderful that a woman should wish to be happy and that she should fight for that with every weapon she can find?" She rose and held out her hand. "You will go and make friends soon, will you not? He is fretting because you have deserted him."