Douglas bowed.
“I have just heard from Mr. Conolly—whom I met accidentally in Pall Mall—that you have returned from America. He gave me no further account of you, except that he had met you and spoken to you here. I hope nothing unpleasant passed.”
“The meeting was not a pleasant one. I shall take steps to make Mr. Conolly understand that.”
“Nothing approaching to violence, I trust.”
“No. Mr. Conolly’s discretion averted it. I am not sure that a second interview between us will end so quietly.”
“The interview should not have taken place at all, Sholto. I need not point out to you that prudence and good taste forbid any repetition of it.”
“I did not seek it, Mr. Lind. He forced it upon me. I promise you that if a second meeting takes place, it will be forced upon him by me, and will take place in another country.”
“That is a young man’s idea, Sholto. The day for such crimes, thank Heaven, is past and gone. Let us say no more of it. I was speaking to your mother on Sunday. Have you seen her yet?”
“No.”
“Sholto, you hit us all very hard that Monday before Christmas. I know what I felt about my daughter. But I can only imagine what your mother must have felt about her son.”