The owner of the room was lying on a big sofa near one of the open windows. Within reach was a low bookcase, a table with an electric reading lamp, and a little row of electric bells, some scattered papers and an open telegram.
The man on the sofa lay quite still looking into the garden as it sunk from sight under the slowly falling veil of purple night.
He was evidently a tall man, with the head and shoulders of an athlete, and a face of such precise and unusual beauty that one’s instinct called out, “Here, then, God has planned a man.”
Aymer Aston, indeed, was not unlike his father, but far more regular in feature, more carefully hewn, and the serenity of the older face was lacking. Here was the face of a fighter, alive with the strong passions held in by a stronger will. There was almost riotous vitality expressed in his colouring, coppery-coloured hair and dark brows, eyes of surprising blueness and a tanned skin, for he spent hours lying in the sun, hatless and unshaded, with the avowed intention of “browning”; and he “browned” well except for a queer white triangled scar almost in the centre of his forehead, an ugly mark that showed up with fresh distinctness when any emotion brought the quick blood to his face. There was indeed nothing in his appearance to suggest a cripple or an invalid.
Nevertheless, Aymer Aston, aged thirty-five, the best polo-player, the best fencer, the best athlete of his day at College, possessing more than his share of the vigour of youth and glory of life, had, for over ten years, never moved without help from the sofa on which he lay, and the strange scar and a certain weakness in the left hand and arm were the only visible signs of the catastrophe that had broken his life. 17
A thin, angular man entered, and crossed the room with an apologetic cough.
“Is that you, Vespasian?” demanded his master without moving. “Have they come?”
“No, sir, but there is a message from the House. I believe Mr. Aston is wanted particularly.”
“What a nuisance. Why can’t they let him alone? He might as well be in office.”
The man, without asking permission, rearranged his master’s cushions with a practised hand.