Marion felt a sudden sinking in her heart and was conscious that the color was fading from her cheeks, but she took a large swallow of tea and tried to look unconcerned. Florence watched Roswell's face closely and saw the same expression come into his eyes which she had noticed that afternoon at the Renaissance Club tea.
"When did he come?" asked Marion, after a moment.
"This morning on the 'Limited'. He has been in England all winter. You will see him to-morrow, as he told me Sedger had asked him on his coach."
"What fate has brought him back again?" thought Marion.
Roswell Sanderson was silent for a moment, then he came toward his wife. Taking a seat beside her, he asked tenderly if she remembered what day it was; then he took a package from his pocket which he dropped into her lap.
"Why, it's the anniversary of our wedding. I had quite forgotten it."
Florence had left the room a moment before, so that they were alone. Marion untied the parcel in her lap, and found that it was a case containing a string of pearls. She looked up into her husband's face and kissed him, and a feeling of shame came into her heart. She saw a love in his eyes which she could not return, and she prayed that he might find the means to make her love him. This thought was in her heart only for a moment, then she was playing with the pearls, and wondering again why Duncan had come back into her life.