“Be brave, sweetheart,” said he, “but remember that now you're my wife.”
She nodded at him gravely and disappeared.
Orde sat in the dim parlour for what seemed to be an interminable period. Occasionally the sounds of distant voices rose to his ear and died away again. The front door opened to admit some one, but Orde could not see who it was. Twice a scurrying of feet overhead seemed to indicate the bustle of excitement. The afternoon waned. A faint whiff of cooking, escaping through some carelessly open door, was borne to his nostrils. It grew dark, but the lamps remained unlighted. Finally he heard the rustle of the portieres, and turned to see the dim form of the general standing there.
“Bad business! bad business!” muttered the old man. “It's very hard on me. Perhaps you did the right thing—you must be good to her—but I cannot countenance this affair. It was most high-handed, sir!”
The portieres fell again, and he disappeared.
Finally, after another interval, Carroll returned. She went immediately to the gas-fixture, which she lit. Orde then saw that she was sobbing violently. She came to him, and for a moment hid her face against his breast. He patted her hair, waiting for her to speak. After a little she controlled herself.
“How was it?” asked Orde, then.
She shivered.
“I never knew people could be so cruel,” she complained in almost a bewildered manner. “Jack, we must go to-night. She—she has ordered me out of the house, and says she never wants to see my face again.” She broke down for a second. “Oh, Jack! she can't mean that. I've always been a good daughter to her. And she's very bitter against Gerald. Oh! I told her it wasn't his fault, but she won't listen. She sent for that odious Mr. Merritt—her rector, you know—and he supported her. I believe he's angry because we did not go to him. Could you believe such a thing! And she's shut herself up in her air of high virtue, and underneath it she's, oh, so angry!”
“Well, it's natural she should be upset,” comforted Orde. “Don't think too much of what she does now. Later she'll get over it.”