Mr. Tremain took up one of the fragrant blossoms, and, bending down towards Esther, said, in a half undertone:
"And is Miss Dick also a sharer in this secret?"
Esther shook her head.
"Not through me," she answered.
"And Mainwaring, how did he become a conspirator?"
"I do not know," she replied, looking down again. "I do not know—how should I?"
He made no answer for a moment, during which his eyes never left the downcast face before him.
"Good-bye," he said simply, at last, and including Miss Darling in his leave-taking by a half bow, passed out of the room, carrying the red rose-bud with him.
It was a distinct source of pleasure to him, as he contemplated the little flower, to remember for whom its sister roses were destined. The tiny blood-red blossom seemed to put him in touch once more with his old life—that life which antedated his visit to the Folly—when Adèle Lamien was still unknown to him.