"Sh!" she said, "he is coming," and disappeared so silently into the bushes that she seemed to fade away from his sight. A moment later, the dry leaves crackled under a man's foot, and Colonel Darcy stood before him.
"We have not had our little meeting yet, Mr. Stanley," he said abruptly.
"When do you leave this vicinity, Colonel Darcy?" asked the Secretary, ignoring the other's remark.
"When you do. Till then I remain here to guard my honour."
"You surely are not trying to live up to that absurd fable!"
"Why not, when my wife has this moment left you?"
"You have sharp eyes, Colonel," replied the Secretary, turning on his heel, and walking towards the house.
"I need to have, Mr. Stanley," remarked the other, as he watched him go.
"Kent-Lauriston," said the Secretary, when they were alone after lunch, "affairs have taken a startling turn since I last saw you."