The word was brief, it sounded stern; but in the same instant his hand found hers and held it very tightly.
She mastered herself with a great effort in response to his insistence.
"Were you very angry with him?" she whispered.
"No."
"You didn't—punish him in any way?"
"No. I told him to forget it and said I should do the same. As a matter of fact, I had forgotten it until this moment." Mordaunt's tone was unemotional; he released her hand as he was speaking, and again she was conscious of that small sense of chill.
"You forgave him, then?" she said.
"Yes, I did." He paused a moment; then: "By and bye," he said, "Rupert will take on the management of the Kellerton estate, and I think he will probably be a great help to me."
Chris's eyes shot upwards in amazement. "Trevor! Not really?"
He smiled a little. "Yes, really. It is the sort of life that suits him best; and he will be pretty busy, so it ought to keep him out of mischief."
"Oh, but, Trevor—" she said, and stopped short.