Mansfield rose.
"Gentlemen, I congratulate you on having won your own fight. I think you have no further need of my advice and encouragement—for the present."
He bowed and departed, and left them still incredulous, amazed by their own achievement, even now scarce able to realize the swift change from defeat into victory.
CHAPTER IX
Dorothy had greatly desired to accompany Armstrong to Wilmington; for, though she said nothing of it to him, a premonition of evil was strong upon her. But nature denied the wish. Dorothy was given to sudden spells of illness, and her physical condition was becoming manifest. Further, she quite realized the danger to her of a tense emotional and nervous strain for days on end, such as this meeting would involve. Reluctantly, she stayed at home.
On the day of the meeting, Armstrong left very early. She went with him to the station, walking up and down as they waited for the train. On this day of all days, she wanted to send forth her husband with the full and perfect assurance of her love, with no drag of domestic anxiety to weaken his efforts. Yet, somewhere in the shadows of her being, those casual words of her mother's lingered and recurred to her mind; why it was, she refused to admit to herself.
"I'm uneasy about Jimmy Wren," said Armstrong, as they paced up and down. "I'm afraid he's tied up with some woman, and I don't like his close-mouthed ways about it. It's not natural for Jimmy to be reticent."
"Jimmy!" exclaimed Dorothy quickly. "What woman?"
"That's just the point—I'm not even sure that the guess is right. But he's not been himself lately. I heard him getting a curb opinion out of Mansfield the other day, on the divorce laws in this state, and I know he bought some confoundedly expensive French perfume last week. He's been running into debt, too."