“From whom?” asked her daughter, instantly aroused.
“From that man who took me in to dinner. I think his name was Bowden.”
“Oh! That stout, red-faced man. I don’t know him.”
“Neither do I. He was, however, very pleasant, and seems to have travelled a lot,” replied her mother. “He told me that your precious friend, Henfrey, is back, and is staying down in Surrey as guest of some woman named Bond.”
Dorise sat staggered. Then her lover’s secret was out! If his whereabouts were known in Society, then the police would quickly get upon his track! She felt she must warn him instantly of his peril.
“How did he know, I wonder?” she asked anxiously.
“Oh! I suppose he’s heard. He seemed to know all about the fellow. It appears that at last he’s become engaged.”
“Engaged? Hugh engaged?”
“Yes, to a girl named Louise Lambert. She’s the adopted daughter of a man named Benton, who was, by the way, a great friend of old Mr. Henfrey.”
Hugh engaged to Louise Lambert! Dorise sat bewildered.