“The very worst!” was his reply, in a voice which was hoarse with emotion—“worse than anything I had anticipated even in my wildest dreams. Athelstan Moore has declared open antagonism towards my people. To-night a Bill came up for its first reading in Parliament—a Bill for the banishment of all the Jews!”
“All the Jews?” the girl repeated questioningly. “The pauper aliens, you mean?”
He shook his head.
“No, all the Jews, both English and foreign, rich and poor. Moore does not intend to do things by halves.”
Patricia drew a deep breath.
“Preposterous!” she exclaimed—“preposterous! Surely the man must be mad. Banish the Jews! Why, anyone can see at first sight that the idea is totally impracticable. How was it received?”
He sank on to a chair, looking almost exhausted.
“I hardly know. I was so dumfounded that I could scarcely move, and the whole place seemed to spin. The other Members regarded it with equanimity, and evidently knew something of it before. I suppose I was purposely kept in the dark. The House rose before the debate was concluded, and it will be brought on again to-morrow night. But think, Patricia, what it will mean. It is enough to make a man’s senses reel!”
The girl poured him out a glass of wine and made him take it. If only she had known of this before Lady Chesterwood had left! Her heart beat like a sledge-hammer against her breast, and for the moment she could find no words; but she knew that her lover needed comfort, and that it was her duty to help him.
“Your nerves are unstrung, dear,” she said, in a soothing voice. “You must go home soon and rest. I am sure you need not be alarmed, Lionel. The Bill will never be carried; it cannot, while there is justice in England. What man in his senses would counsel intoleration in these days? This is the age of freedom—of freedom in religious matters most of all.”