"Then," said Lady Gethin, "I will come, and you must agree to listen to any objections which may occur to me, rationally, without snapping my nose off, because I shall see things which would never strike you."
"Agreed."
"When shall I go?" resumed Lady Gethin. "I confess I am dying to see this lady-love of yours, this heroine of a still unsolved mystery. May I go to-morrow?"
Glynn took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you," was all he said, but there was that in his voice which made a troublesome lump rise in Lady Gethin's throat.
This entire and disinterested devotion touched her infinitely, and gave her an instant's glimpse of the loveliness life might have if tenderness and loyalty and self-forgetful generosity could only share and share alike, with science, statistics, and political economy.
"Not to-morrow," resumed Glynn after a pause. "I must give Lambert warning, for he is very nervous about any one coming near him. He is so possessed by the idea that he is being watched. It is an awful feeling, I had no conception what it is until I saw a man under its influence. I will settle with him and Elsie when they shall receive you. At present I am not quite so uneasy about them, for Deering is out of town. I am afraid he has some very strong hold on Lambert."
"Deering is not out of town; I saw him at the opera last night."
"Indeed!" Then after a pause, "It is amazing how Lambert has escaped detection so far, but it is inevitable. Why he dreads it, and what he is afraid of, remains to be told. I think he is longing to tell, yet dreads to do so, which is inconsistent with his assertion that he has broken no law."
"Hugh," said Lady Gethin, "I wish you would give me a promise, not to declare yourself to Miss Lambert until you know the whole truth."
"No, Lady Gethin, I will not pledge myself to anything," returned Glynn, smiling; and soon after he took his leave.