Lady Lucy looked at him steadily.
"I shall write myself to Miss Mallory, Oliver."
His pallor gave place to a flush of indignation.
"Is it necessary to do anything so cruel, mother?"
"I shall not write cruelly."
He shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
"Considering what you have made up your mind to do, I should have thought least said, soonest mended. However, if you must, you must. I can only prepare Diana for your letter and soften it when it comes."
"In your new love, Oliver, have you quite forgotten the old?" Lady Lucy's voice shook for the first time.
"I shall be only too glad to remember it, when you give me the opportunity," he said, sombrely.
"I have not been a bad mother to you, Oliver. I have claims upon you."