At last he took her hand and held it in his for a long time. Then he raised his hat and bade her farewell. She seemed glad to get rid of his presence, for she turned away and flew towards her mother’s house at the seaward end of the silent road, while he turned on his heel and strode in the direction of the station.
Rather than go direct to Mrs. Shaylor’s I followed the Doctor at a distance up the town until I saw him hurry into the station yard. Here he had unbuttoned his overcoat and glanced at his watch. Evidently a train was due.
So I turned back, and a little later I opened the garden gate, walked up the path and rang the bell. “Jock,” Mrs. Shaylor’s Airedale barked loudly, and in a few moments the neat maid opened the door.
In the artistic little hall Thelma, who had divested herself of coat and hat, came forward exclaiming gladly—
“Well, Mr. Yelverton! Whoever expected to see you tonight? Come in. Mother is out at a friend’s playing bridge, I think, and I am all alone.”
She helped me off with my coat, took my hat, and ushered me into the charming drawing-room overlooking the sea.
She switched on more lights and handed me her cigarette case, then threw herself into a big chair before the fire opposite me.
“Now, tell me what you’ve been doing,” she asked. “It is a real surprise to see you tonight.”
She was, of course, ignorant that I knew of her secret meeting with old Feng, and I felt annoyed and mistrustful.
“Well,” I said, “I have very little news and none of any importance. I came down hoping that you might have something more to tell me. My only news is that the other day I met another of our friends—Mr. Hartley Humphreys. You remember the old invalid at Mürren?”