"Won't you come indoors and see her, sir?"
"No; I'd rather see her in the garden."
It was still daylight here, but it was growing shadowy among the avenues in Kensington Gardens. The gate near which Valentine waited was not to be seen from the windows of dining or drawing-room.
The housemaid ran off to summon Miss Paget; and in less than five minutes
Diana appeared, dressed in her hat and garden jacket.
"Will you come out into the road with me, dear?" asked Valentine. "I have something serious to say to you."
"And I am so anxious to hear what the Doctor has said," answered Diana, as she took Valentine's arm.
The road before the Lawn was very quiet at this hour of the evening, and here they were safely beyond Mr. Sheldon's ken.
"Tell me the Doctor's opinion, Valentine," Diana said, eagerly. "Does he think the case very serious?"
"He does. It is more serious than you or I could have imagined, if
Providence had not helped me to discover the truth."
"What do you mean, Valentine?"