She shook her head.
He cleared his throat before the next question. “And you don’t think that in your absence he may have spoken—to anyone?”
“Never!”
“Then, my dear, we seem to have had the most unbelievable good luck; and I can’t see—”
He had edged slowly nearer, and now laid a large ringed hand on her sleeve. How well she knew those rings—the two dull gold snakes with malevolent jewelled eyes! She sat as motionless as if their coils were about her, till slowly his tentative grasp relaxed.
“Lizzie, you know”—his tone was discouraged—“this is morbid....”
“Morbid?”
“When you’re safe out of the worst scrape ... and free, my darling, free! Don’t you realize it? I suppose the strain’s been too much for you; but I want you to feel that now—”
She stood up suddenly, and put half the length of the room between them.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” she almost screamed, as she had screamed long ago at Mrs. Mant.