Trist shrugged his shoulders imperceptibly.
'Silence,' continued Hicks significantly, 'in this case would be a mistake. I don't mind ... your knowing that it is not from mere curiosity that I am doing this. Brenda ... I want to save ... her ... from anything unpleasant.'
At this point Trist appeared to relent. It was not until afterwards that Hicks realized that he had learnt absolutely nothing from him.
'What do you think ought to be done?' he asked gently.
The question remained unanswered for some time, and then it was only met by another.
'Is Brenda coming to-night?'
'Yes.'
'And Alice?'
'No.'
They walked through the brilliant rooms together, each wondering what lay behind the eyes of the other, each striving to penetrate the thoughts of the other, to divine his motives, to reach his heart.