"It is quite unnecessary."
"Yes, but you don't understand! I never realised till it was too late, and even then I didn't think - I mean, I knew it was you she cared for, only when I'm with her I forget everything else! She's so beautiful, Audley!"
"Yes," said the Colonel. "I understand all that. The remedy is not to see any more of her."
"But I shall see her! I must!"
"Oh no, you must not! I imagine you do not expect her to elope with you?"
"No, no! Good God, such an idea never -"
"Very well then. The only thing you can do, Peregrine, since the sight of her is so disastrous, is to leave Brussels."
A long silence fell. Peregrine said at last, in a dejected tone: "I suppose it is. But how can I? There's Stuart's ball tomorrow, and the Duke's on the 7th, and -"
"A civil note to Stuart will answer the purpose," replied the Colonel, with the tremor of a smile. "Your wife's indisposition is sufficiently well known to provide you with a reasonable excuse. If you need more, you can inform your friends that the recent activities on the frontier have made you realise the propriety of conveying your family back to England."
"Yes, but - damn it, Charles, I won't dash off at at a moment's notice like that!"