“Gone?”
“Yes; they are gone.”
“But Lady Dellatoria—gone—with him?”
The words seemed as if they would choke her, but Cornel spoke out quite plainly, and without a tremor in her voice, though there was a terrible compression at her breast.
“Yes,” she said calmly, though every word she uttered caused her a pang; “she has gone back with her husband.”
Armstrong lay perfectly still for a few minutes, thinking deeply. Then, as if resolved what to do, he said sharply—
“Help me up.”
Cornel bent over him, but he turned from her.
“No, no, not you: Miranda.”
The girl eagerly helped him to rise, and he leaned upon her as she guided him to a chair.