"Why did he go there, then?"
"Steele brought him—Norman Steele."
"I don't know any Mr. Steele."
I began to think that Randolph Schuyler had possessed many acquaintances of whom his wife knew nothing, and I concluded to see Bradbury before I revealed any more of Schuyler's affairs.
And then, Lowney began adroitly to put questions instead of answering them.
He inquired concerning Mr. Schuyler's habits and pursuits, his recreations and his social life.
All three of the women gave responses to these queries, and I learned many things.
First, that Randolph Schuyler was one manner of man at home and another abroad. The household, it was plain to be seen, was one of most conservative customs and rigidly straightbacked in its conventions.
Mrs. Schuyler was not a second wife. She had been married about seven years, and had lived the last five of them in the house we were now in. She was much younger than her husband, and he had, I could see, kept her from all knowledge of or participation in his Bohemian tastes. They were the sort of people who have a box at the opera and are patrons of the best and most exclusive functions of the highest society. Mrs. Schuyler, after the first shock, recovered her poise, and though now and then a tremor shook her slight frame, she bore herself with dignity and calm.
The two maiden ladies also grew quieter, but we all nervously awaited the return of the butler.