Cameron reassured her on that point. Miss Browne had been with them ever since Miss Macintosh left.
'But how long is that? You don't tell me,' she cried.
Cameron looked at a lower button.
'Some—time,' he repeated faintly.
'Jim,' she cried, and almost sharply, 'have you been keeping things from me? How long has Miss Macintosh been gone?'
He lifted his eyes and looked at her. The day of reckoning had come.
'She left six months after you went,' he answered.
The news held Mrs. Cameron speechless for three minutes.
'This other person—Miss Browne—is she as good?' she asked at length.
Cameron breathed hard, and cut a slice of bread.