She stood still, always staring at him, as if searching for something which she did not find.
"Why not?" she repeated.
"You left—him when he needed you most. You left him to die alone."
Lady Sophia suddenly turned round to Malling and scrutinized his face, as if demanding from him sympathy in her horrified amazement. He regarded her calmly, and she turned again to the curate.
"What do you mean?" she said, and her voice had changed.
"That his friends can never be yours", said Chichester, as if making a great effort, driven to it by some intense feeling.
"You call yourself his friend!" said Lady Sophia. Her voice vibrated with scorn.
"At any rate, he was mine, my best friend. And now he has gone forever!"
Lady Sophia drew in her breath.
"You hypocrite!" she said. "You hypocrite!"