He bowed his head under the reproof. She despised him, he reflected, as he sat once more alone; a monstrous thing for a woman to despise a man; and strangest of all, she seemed to like him. Would his brother despise him, too? And would his brother like him?
And presently the brother appeared, under Flora’s escort; and, standing afar off beside the doorway, eyed the hero of this tale.
‘So this is you?’ he said, at length.
‘Yes, Alick, it’s me—it’s John,’ replied the elder brother, feebly.
‘And how did you get in here?’ inquired the younger.
‘Oh, I had my pass-key,’ says John.
‘The deuce you had!’ said Alexander. ‘Ah, you lived in a better world! There are no pass-keys going now.’
‘Well, father was always averse to them,’ sighed John. And the conversation then broke down, and the brothers looked askance at one another in silence.
‘Well, and what the devil are we to do?’ said Alexander. ‘I suppose if the authorities got wind of you, you would be taken up?’
‘It depends on whether they’ve found the body or not,’ returned John. ‘And then there’s that cabman, to be sure!’