"He's a much better man than you'll ever be, Mr. Ruston. Really you might go now."
"All right, I will. I'm going down to the city to see your husband and Carlin."
"I'm afraid I've wasted your time."
She spoke with a bitterness which seemed impossible to miss. But he appeared to miss it.
"Oh, not a bit, really," he assured her anxiously. "Good-bye," he added, holding out his hand.
"Good-bye. I've shaken hands once."
He waited a moment to see if she would speak again, but she said nothing. So he left her.
As he called a hansom, Mrs. Cormack was leaning over her balcony. She took a little jewelled watch out of her pocket and looked at it.
"An hour and a quarter!" she cried. "And I know the poor man isn't at home!"