But his wife gazed at him very earnestly.
"A woman's instinct is not very often wrong. There's tension in the air, and—why shouldn't I speak out?—I want to put out a helping hand—to save Mark, before things come to a head and he is faced with a crisis."
"In that case," said her husband blandly, "I had better arrange that Mark should be the person who goes to Gloucester."
XVII
"A very cold north wind," said Sir Julian, entering the room set ready for a General Committee meeting.
"Damnably cold," said Mark Easter, who never swore.
Sir Julian made an elaborate rearrangement of the pencils and blotting-paper on the table in front of him and then looked at Mark.
They were the first arrivals.
Mark's gaze met Sir Julian's, but it was unusually clouded.
"I don't know what's the matter with the place," he said irritably.