May's eyebrows twitched; her look fell.
"I went to Alverholme," Dyce continued, "to see my people."
May turned her eyes to the window. Uneasiness appeared in her face. "She wants to know"—said Dyce to himself—"whether I have received that letter."
"Do you stay in town?" inquired Mrs. Toplady.
"For a week or two, I think." He added, carelessly, "A letter this morning, forwarded from Rivenoak, brought me back."
May made a nervous movement, and at once exclaimed:
"I suppose your correspondence is enormous, Mr. Lashmar?"
"Enormous—why no. But interesting, especially of late."
"Of course—a public man—"
Impossible to get assurance. The signs he noticed might mean nothing at all; on the other hand, they were perhaps decisive. More about the letter of this morning he durst not say, lest, if this girl had really written it, she should think him lacking in delicacy, in discretion.