"If my wife forgives me I will forgive you," he answered, and left the room.
Aunt Jelly stared at the closed door, and strove to call him back, but her voice died in her throat, a mist came before her eyes, and overwhelmed by the fatal discovery she had made, and the excitement she had undergone, she fell back in a dead faint.
[CHAPTER XXVII.]
THE DEITY CALLED FATE.
"Believe me, sir, the deity called Fate,
Is stronger than the strongest of us all,
Fate! Fortune! Destiny! what name you will!
We are the sport of some malignant power,
Who twists and turns the actions of our lives,
In such strange fashion that our best intents
--Not evil in themselves--breed evil things,
And wreck our fairest ventures, tho' we strive
To bring them holily to some quiet port."
On leaving Miss Corbin's house Errington's first impulse was to drive straight to the railway station, catch the six-thirty train, and go down to the Hall at once, in order to explain matters to his wife. A moment's reflection, however, convinced him that this would be a foolish thing to do, as he could not possibly reach home before eight o'clock, and his late arrival at such an hour without being expected would be sure to cause comment among the servants. They already guessed more of the strained relations between himself and his wife than he liked, so in order to avoid the slightest chance of any further remark being made, he determined to go down to Denfield next day in the ordinary course of things.
He therefore drove back to his hotel, and while dressing for dinner pondered deeply as to the best course to pursue with Alizon. On this night he was engaged to dine with Macjean at the Soudan Hotel, and recollected that his cousin was to be of the party. Eustace was a man in whom he had a profound belief, and frequently deferred to his cousin's judgment in delicate matters, so on this present occasion he made up his mind to speak to Gartney, whose clear head would doubtless be able to solve the problem.
It was true that Mrs. Veilsturm expected him to call for her at the Marlowe Theatre, where she had a box. But the idea of being in her company again after what had transpired was too much for him, so he hastily scribbled a note excusing himself on the plea of sudden indisposition, and sent it off to Park Lane by a special messenger.
"Macjean and Laxton can go to the theatre as arranged," he thought, as he went slowly down the stairs, "and I'll make Eustace take me to his rooms, where we can talk over things at our ease."
With this determination he jumped into a hansom and drove off to the Soudan Hotel in Piccadilly, where he found Otterburn waiting for him in company with Laxton.