He sat very quietly and his expression did not change.
"That would have been too bad, Jane," he said after a moment.
She nodded slowly in affirmation.
"I'd rather he wasn't in the country just now," he went on. "You wouldn't mind, would you, if I drove him out?"
She said quickly:
"You trust me, don't you?"
He smiled gently and looked at her with a light in his eyes that was almost humble.
"I've trusted you with my love. I want to do things for you. I'd like to drive this man out of your way."
He was reluctant to give his real reason because, by doing so, he would necessarily make her aware of the strength of the menace of which Hilton, he felt but could not prove, was a part. He still wanted to shield her from full realization of the force aligned against her.
She leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands folded.