He shook his head.

“Nothing!”

She threw herself into an easy-chair and picked up a magazine.

“Thank you,” she said. “Do hurry, please. I have a new cook and she asked particularly whether we were punctual people.”

“Six minutes will see me through it,” Sir Henry promised, making for the door. “Come to think of it, I missed my lunch. I think I'll manage it in five.”

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CHAPTER VII

Sir Henry was in a pleasant and expansive humour that evening. The new cook was an unqualified success, and he was conscious of having dined exceedingly well. He sat in a comfortable easy-chair before a blazing wood fire, he had just lit one of his favourite brand of cigarettes, and his wife, whom he adored, was seated only a few feet away.

“Quite a remarkable change in Helen,” he observed. “She was in the depths of depression when I went away, and to-night she seems positively cheerful.”

“Helen varies a great deal,” Philippa reminded him.