"Oh, that was the end of it?" said Wentworth.
"Absolutely," said Rendel. "She did not want to leave her father."
"Ah, is that it?" said Wentworth, feeling that he could not decently advance an urgent plea against Sir William. "Poor old man! I know he's gone to pieces frightfully since his wife died—still, couldn't some one have been found to take care of him?"
"Hardly any one like Rachel," Rendel said.
"Naturally," said Wentworth.
"You know he is living with us?" Rendel said.
"Is he?" said Wentworth surprised. "Upon my word, Frank, you are a good son-in-law."
Rendel ignored the tone of Wentworth's last remark and said quite simply—
"Oh! well, there was nothing else to be done. He's been ill, you know, really rather bad; first he had a chill, and then influenza on the top of it. He's frightfully low altogether."
"But I rather wonder," said Wentworth, "as Mrs. Rendel had her father with her, that you didn't go to Africa without her. Wouldn't that have been possible?"