e might persuade herself
that to hint to him of Rachel's infidelity would be to put him on his
guard--she might say that it was not fair that Rachel should not be
pulled up....

Christopher himself could not tell how far this affair with Breton had
gone....

During that short time it seemed to him that a crisis, that had been
building up around him, here, there, for months, for years perhaps, had
leapt upon him and that in some way he must deal with it.

Even whilst he struggled with the thoughts that were sweeping upon him
now from every side, they were at the house--As he stepped out of the
carriage he felt that he was before a locked door, that the safety of
many persons depended upon his opening it, that he could not find the
key.

"Lady Seddon was out. Sir Roderick was alone----" The Duchess was half
assisted, half carried into the house.

III

The Duchess's feelings were indeed confused as she was helped into
Roddy's room, placed in a large easy chair opposite to him and at last
left alone with him.

Enough of itself to disturb her was the fact that now for the first time
for thirty years she was able to examine some room different from her
own--A large, high white-walled room with wide windows that displayed
the park, sporting prints on the walls, antlers over the fireplace, a
piano in one corner, a large bowl of primroses on the piano, some
boxing-gloves and two old swords over the door, a wooden case with thin
rosewood drawers and "Birds' Eggs" in gold letters upon it, a round
table near the sofa upon which Roddy was lying and on the table a
photograph of Rachel--

All these things her sharp old eyes noticed before she allowed them to
settle upon Roddy--

His quiet, almost humorous "Well, Duchess," set, quite concisely, the
note for this conversation. Not for either of them was it to betray any
consciousness that this meeting of theirs was in any way out of the
ordinary. Formerly it had been the ebullient, vigorous Roddy who had
brought his vigour to renew her fierce old age; now that old age must be
brought to him--

The Beaminsters did not show surprise at anything at all; had she come
from her grave to visit him he would have greeted her with his quiet
"Well, Duchess"--his life was broken in pieces, but she was not to offer
any comment on that either.

She was exhausted even by that little drive, and that little passage
from door to door, so she just lay back in her chair for a little while