"They have returned at my wish and suddenly," he said.
At that moment there was a loud knock at the door.
"There are some of the guests," he said, rising. "My friend and I will conceal ourselves behind that curtained recess. You trust all to me; and you promise to be strong?"
"I trust all to you, and I will be strong!" said Violet.
The two men quickly drew the curtain aside and concealed themselves in the recess.
Scarcely had they done so when Howard Murpoint and the Dodsons entered.
He came up to Violet and kissed her hand with his subtle courtliness and murmured some soft greeting, then, as he shook hands with Mrs. Mildmay, he said:
"I met our dear friends and managed that we should all come together."
Mrs. Mildmay was about to touch the bell, when at a gesture from Violet she paused and said: