The tide was out, and a man and woman were walking along together close to the water's edge.
"It's Chris and Mrs. Heriot," Feathers said quietly. "Shall we go and meet them?"
He turned towards the steps leading down to the shore, but Marie did not move. She was very pale, and the look in her eyes cut him to the heart when he looked at her.
"I don't think I will—I'd rather go back—they haven't seen us," she answered.
She would have turned back the way they had come, but Feathers resolutely barred the way.
"Mrs. Lawless, don't you think it would be much wiser to come along and meet them?" he asked deliberately.
She raised her troubled eyes to his.
"I don't want to . . . why need I? Oh, do you think I must?"
He tried to laugh, as if it were a subject of no importance.
"Why not? They have probably seen us."