He held up a gloved hand.
"Wait till you have seen him," he said. "For myself, I shall make a point of seeing Mr. Morton every day to hear the news.... Miss Deronnais, I tell you plainly that you alone will have to bear the weight of all this, unless Mrs. Baxter—"
"Oh, do explain," she said almost irritably.
He looked at her with those irresistibly twinkling eyes, but she perceived a very steady will behind them.
"I will explain nothing at all," he said, "now that I have seen you, and heard what you think, except this single point. What you have to be prepared for is the news that Mr. Baxter has suddenly gone out of his mind."
It was said in exactly the same tone as his previous sentences, and for a moment she did not catch the full weight of its meaning. She stopped and looked at him, paling gradually.
"Yes, you took that very well," he said, still meeting her eyes steadily. "Stop.... Keep a strong hold on yourself. That is the worst you have to hear, for the present. Now tell me immediately whether you think Mrs. Baxter should be informed or not."
Her leaping heart slowed down into three or four gulping blows at the base of her throat. She swallowed with difficulty.
"How do you know—"
"Kindly answer my question," he said. "Do you think Mrs. Baxter—"