“No; you can’t help me,” he rather muttered than spoke, only half facing her.
“Are you going to London?”
“To London, yes,” was his answer.
And he pursued his way....
Ada went to the house. Mrs. Stratton was in the drawing-room.
“Can you tell me where Mrs. Clarendon is?” the girl asked of her.
“She has gone up to her room, Ada,” was the reply. “Do you want her? She has a little headache, and meant to lie down for an hour.”
“In that case I won’t trouble her; it is nothing.”
She wandered back into the park. King-cote was long since out of sight. She went as far as the gate leading out into the road, and stood by it for a long time....
He did not walk towards Winstoke station, but turned into a lane which would bring him to Salcot East. Going slowly at first, even standing still at times, his pace at length quickened, and before long he was walking at his utmost speed. Even thus, it took him an hour and a half to reach Salcot. He went straight to the post-office, which was also a shop where stationery and very various things were sold. Having purchased paper and a large envelope, he wrote this: