She did not move.
"Come," he said, "you're furious; but you know you ought to humor me. It's only that I want my picture more complete—that's all."
And then, with nervous quickness, she did what he asked.
It was upon the morning following this little conversation that Dr. Kirby made his appearance at the house on the river and declared that he could not "explain."
"Tell me without explaining," Margaret suggested.
But this at first seemed to the Doctor even more difficult than the other alternative; it would have been so much more in accordance with his sense of the fitness of things to ascend this stumbling-block which had fallen in their path by means of a proper staircase, carpeted steps of probabilities, things he had foreseen—intuitions. But in fact he had foreseen nothing; he felt that he could not make a staircase. So he gave one great hard bound.
"Garda is engaged," he announced. "To Lucian Spenser."
Margaret was greatly astonished. "I didn't know he was back," she said.
"He has only just come. She went up to Norfolk with my cousin, Sally Lowndes"—here the Doctor stopped, gazing at Margaret inquiringly.
"Yes, I left it to you to decide about her going—don't you remember?"