'I told Sir Edward,' he said, after a considerable space of time, 'that I must be allowed to remain in England for some time to come; it seems to me that I should have done better had I asked to be sent away on active service without delay.'
'I should hardly go so far as to say that, Theo,' remarked Mrs. Wylie placidly; 'but I think you must be very careful. I only want to call your attention to the light in which your help is likely to appear in the eyes of the world.'
'You have no...'—he hesitated before saying the word 'man,' but his listener gave a little quick nod as if to help him—'man to help you, except me; and it seems better that there should be someone whom you can play, as it were, against Huston's stronger cards—someone of whom he is afraid.'
'Yes,' replied the lady with an affectionate smile; 'I quite understand your meaning; and I think you are right, although Alfred Huston is not an alarming person: he is very weak.'
'When he is sober,' suggested Trist significantly.
The sailor's widow was too brave a woman to be frightened by this insinuation, of which she took absolutely no notice.
'And,' she continued, 'I am convinced that this reconciliation is more likely to be brought about if it is left entirely in my hands. Your influence, however subtle, will be detected by Alfred Huston, and the result will be disastrous. Unless ... unless...'
She stopped in a vague way, and moved restlessly.
'Unless what?'
'Unless you go to Alfred Huston and convince him by some means that there is no love between you and Alice.'