Her eyes, clouded with pain, sought Jarvis’s face. She had suddenly leaped to the conclusion that he had come to tell her something concerning the contract; perhaps to inform her that her prolonged furlough was at an end.
His next words confirmed this.
“I believe,” he said slowly, “that you are under bonds to leave your home for a considerable period. Five years, or thereabouts, to be exact. Am I right?”
“Yes,” faltered Barbara. She had grown very pale. “That is why,” she said bravely, “I have taught Jimmy to go upstairs alone. But he doesn’t like it—yet.”
Her eager eyes were fastened upon his face.
“Did you come—to—tell me? Must I go—now?” she asked.
He waved his hand deprecatingly.
“Oh, no,” he said. “It isn’t that—exactly. In fact, I have nothing to do with the matter; only——”
He paused, as if to choose his words with care.