'Nevertheless,' he said more cheerily, returning to the original question, 'you are the pluckiest woman I have ever met! You must not give way to this habit of anxiety, for it is nothing but a habit—a sort of moral cowardice. It serves no purpose. An over-anxious man misses his opportunities by moving too soon; an over-anxious woman has no peace in life, because she can do nothing but watch.'
Mrs. Wylie laughed pleasantly.
'No!' she exclaimed, with determination. 'It is all right, Theo; I will not give way to it. My anxiety is only anticipatory; when the moment comes I am generally up to the mark.'
With a brave smile she nodded to him and moved towards the door, carrying her gloves and muff. He followed in order to open the door, for he had some strange, old-fashioned notions of politeness which promise to become fossilized before the end of the century.
'Will it be a long war?' she asked, before passing out of the room.
He answered without deliberation, as if he had already pondered over the question at leisure with a decisive result.
'I think so. It will go on all through the summer and autumn. As things get worse, Turkey will probably pull herself together. It is a way she has. It may even continue actively right on into the winter. The Turks will be on the defensive, which suits them exactly. Put a Turk into a trench with a packet of cigarettes, a little food, a rifle, and a sackful of cartridges, and it will take a considerable number of Russians to get him out.'
'I hope it will not extend into the winter,' said Mrs. Wylie, as she left the room.
'So do I.'
He closed the door and walked slowly back towards the bow-window. There he stood staring out with eyes that saw but understood not, for many minutes.