"What else can it mean?" she said, lifting her eyebrows questioningly.
"It means the end of whatever affection he has for his wife. Of course he never had much. A man of his sort doesn't."
She looked at him with curiosity in her face. "What difference does her performing make in his affection for her?"
"Can't you see that he didn't fall in love with her? He fell in love with her performance."
Mrs. Tate put one finger to her lips and hesitated for a moment. Then she said slowly:—
"How ridiculous you are, Percy! As if any one ever heard of such a thing!"
XVI
On the way home in the hansom that he had called, Jules scarcely spoke. Blanche kept glancing at him covertly; she had never before seen that look in his face, and it alarmed her; he seemed to be trying to keep back the anger that showed itself in his half-closed eyes and his firm-set chin. When they reached the lodgings, Blanche found Madeleine sound asleep by the fireplace, and without waking her, she started to go into the next room to see if Jeanne were comfortable. When she reached the door, Jules said in a low voice:—