She shivered, and some of the tea with which she had just filled the spoon was shaken out of it.
"That was terrible," she said.
"What were your speculations?" said Chichester, showing a sudden and definite waking up of keen interest.
"One of them was this—"
Before he could continue, the door opened again, and the tall and powerful form of the rector appeared. And as the outer man of Chichester seemed to Malling to have begun subtly to change, in obedience surely to the change of his inner man, so seemed Mr. Harding a little altered physically, as he now slowly came forward to greet his wife's two visitors. The power of his physique seemed to be struck at by something within, and to be slightly marred. One saw that largeness can become but a wide surface for the tragic exhibition of weakness. As the rector perceived the presence of Chichester, an expression of startled pain fled over his face and was gone in an instant. He greeted the two men and sat down.
"Have you just begun tea?" he asked, looking now at his wife.
"We are just going to begin it," she replied. "We are talking about the sermon of last Sunday."
"Oh," rejoined the rector.
He turned to Malling.
"Did you come to hear me preach again?"