'Where?'
'I don't know,' he replied, with a shrug of the shoulders.
There was a momentary hesitation on the girl's part. She perceived a terrible flaw in Trist's plan, and he divined her thoughts.
'It will be all right,' he whispered. 'No one knows that I am in England. I will telegraph to-night, and you can join her to-morrow. You ... can trust me, Brenda.'
There was a faint smile of confidence on her face as she turned away and hurried from the room.
Although her light footsteps were almost inaudible, the slight frôlement of her dress seemed to rouse the stupefied man on the low chair near the fire. Perhaps there was in the rhythm of her movements some subtle resemblance to the movements of his wife. He raised his head and appeared to listen in an apathetic way, but presently his chin dropped heavily again upon his breast, and the dull eyes lost all light of intelligence.
Trist turned away and looked out of the window. The two ladies were still lingering near the jeweller's shop. Alice Huston appeared to be pointing out to her companion some specially attractive ornament, and Mrs. Wylie was obeying with a patient smile.
The war-correspondent smiled in a peculiar way, which might well have expressed some bitterness, had he been the sort of man to speak or think bitterly of anyone. The whole picture was so absurdly characteristic, even to the small details—such as Mrs. Wylie's good-natured patience, scarce concealing her utter lack of interest in the jewellery, and Alice Huston's eyes glittering with reflex of the cold gleam of diamonds; for there is a light that comes into the eyes of some women at the mere mention of precious stones.
While he was watching them the ladies turned and crossed the street, coming towards him. He stepped back from the window in case one of them should raise her eyes, and at the same moment Brenda entered the room.
She glanced towards Huston, who was rousing himself from the torpor which had followed his maltreatment at Trist's hands, and which was doubtless partly due to the drink-sodden condition of his mind and body.