; but
she shrank from making the effort.

After Wentworth left her, it had occurred to her that, since Rendel was
not coming back again, she would venture outside the limits of their
garden and go to where the band was playing. She did not at all realise
what the surroundings of that band would be. The kind of life that she
had led before, when they had come abroad with Lady Gore, had not been
the sort of existence reigning at Schleppenheim. She strolled out,
feeling that everything was very strange and new, in the direction of
the music, following without knowing it a path which brought her into
the very middle of the promenade into the centre of a gaily dressed
throng of people, somewhat bewildering to one accustomed to pass all her
days in solitude. Shrinking back a little she turned out of the stream,
and, finding an unoccupied chair under a tree, sat down, looking timidly
about her. Then finding that no one was paying any attention to her, or
appeared to be conscious of the fact that she was venturing out alone,
she gradually became amused at watching all that was going on round her.
Presently two well-dressed women she did not know, an older and a
younger one, Lady Chaloner and Lady Adela Prestige in fact, on their way
to their bazaar, came along deep in talk, the older one stopping to
speak with some emphasis whenever the interest of the conversation
demanded it. One of these halts was made close by Rachel.

"I should like to know what it was," Lady Adela was saying.

"You may depend upon it," said Lady Chaloner, "that it was something
very bad. He is not the man to do that sort of thing for nothing."

"I am quite sure of it," Lady Adela replied, with a little tremor of
excitement. "One can't help feeling that it's something really bad; that
it was not only that he had run away with his neighbour's wife or
something of that kind. He must have done something that can't be
condoned."

"I am sure of it," Lady Chaloner said seriously. "There is no doubt
about that."

"Poor creature!" said Lady Adela. "Didn't he look awful?"

"Perfectly fearful!" said Lady Chaloner. "He looked like the villain in
a play, who is found out--the man who has cheated at cards, or something
of that sort."

"Perhaps that was it."

"I daresay," said Lady Chaloner. "I wonder if he has been playing
Bridge?"

"Dear me, I wish I knew!" said Lady Adela.

This sounded very interesting, Rachel thought--exactly the kind of thing
that h