"But this is all ancient history, George," I reminded him. "What are we going to do?"
"To soften the blow? Nothing. We can't do anything. Sonia's cleared out, I suppose she' gone off to join Beresford. Well, Bertrand thinks Raney's equal to murder, but you can trust Beresford to keep out of the way.... I suppose there'll be a divorce.... I honestly don't know what to do about Raney. He's my oldest and dearest friend, but I don't know more than the surface of him.... God! If I had Sonia's throat in my two hands!" He broke off and pulled me roughly off the kerb, gripping my arm until we were half-way down Cockspur Street. "I've never been faced with this kind of thing, Stornaway. I suppose you must have been?"
"Nothing so bad as this," I was able to answer him.
We walked on into Pall Mall without speaking. Then George gripped my arm again.
"That poor devil alone in the dark with this—this to occupy his thoughts!"
I made no comment. I do not see what comment was possible.
"I feel so hopelessly at sea!" he exclaimed agitatedly. "Stornaway, you've had to pull people out of holes before; can nothing be done? Can't we get her to go back? Would he receive her back? Of course, we're all of us seeing red now, but somehow every hour that she spends with Beresford makes it harder to get her back; if we could use Raney's love for her——"
"D'you want her to go back?" I interrupted.
"God knows what I want!" he sighed.