“I trust,” he said, “that you do not find my interest in her unwarrantable. My visit to you is simply a matter of charity. If my aid is unneeded, so much the better. All the same, I should like to know where she is going and who her friends are.”
“I do not find myself at liberty to afford you any information,” was the curt reply.
Thereupon there was nothing left for Aynesworth to do but to put on his hat and walk out, which he did.
Wingrave met him in the hall on his return.
“Where have you been?” he asked a little sharply.
“On a private errand,” Aynesworth answered, irritated by his words and look.
“You are my secretary,” Wingrave said coldly. “I do not pay you to go about executing private errands.”
Aynesworth looked at him in surprise. Did he really wish to quarrel?
“I imagine, sir,” he said, “that my time is my own when I have no work of yours on hand. If you think otherwise—”
He paused and looked at his employer significantly. Wingrave turned on his heel.