The last sight he had had of her had cut him to the heart. She had conquered her tears at last, but her smile was the saddest thing he had ever seen. It was as though her vanished childhood had suddenly looked forth at him and bidden him farewell. He felt that he would never see the child Dinah again.
The return of the servant with his drink brought him back to his immediate surroundings. He sat down in an easy-chair before the fire to mix it.
The man turned to go, but he had not reached the end of the hall when the front-door bell rang again. He went soft-footed to answer it.
Scott glanced over his shoulder as the door opened, and heard his own name.
"Is Mr. Studley here?" a man's voice asked.
"Yes, sir. Just here, sir," came the answer, and Scott rose with a weary gesture.
"Oh, here you are!" Airily Guy Bathurst advanced to meet him. "Don't let me interrupt your drink! I only want a few words with you."
"I'll fetch another glass, sir" murmured the discreet man-servant, and vanished.
Scott stood, stiff and uncompromising, by his chair. There was a hint of hostility in his bearing. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
Bathurst ignored his attitude with that ease of manner of which he was a past-master. "Well I thought perhaps you could give me news of Dinah" he said. "Billy tells me he left you with her this morning."