ch magnified a hundredfold, together
bearing incontrovertible evidence against Esther. What a good thing he
had found her out in time! He ought to be thankful. Why wasn't he
thankful? He was only furious, sick at heart, utterly miserable...

He must have sat for an hour on the side of his bed, huddled in his
dressing-gown, shivering and moistening his dry lips. He was like that
when Therese came in to inquire how he was feeling. He saw her face
alter as she caught sight of him, and he dully surmised that he must
look pretty queer. He submitted without protest when she urged him to
get back into bed.

"Is anything the matter?" she inquired gently, smoothing the covers
over him with her white, well-manicured hands.

"I'm devilish thirsty," he told her with a laugh.

"Ah, I will get you some water!" she cried quickly, and going into the
bathroom brought him a bottle of Evian water and a glass. He drank
greedily, finished what was left in the bottle.

"You'd like some more, wouldn't you?" he heard her say, and started to
utter a protest, but she was already gone. He hated to have Therese
waiting on him; but if she would she would, he couldn't stop her. She
was trying to be decent; after all, he mustn't behave like a bear.

She was back almost at once with a full bottle of mineral water, and he
drank another glassful thirstily.

"I really think, my dear, we shall have to have a nurse for you," she
remarked softly, studying his face.

"Nurse!" he exclaimed, starting up in a rage. "No, I won't have a
nurse. I tell you it's no good. I'm not going to be ill--but if I am
I'm going to..."

When it came to the point he couldn't bring himself to mention the
nursing-home idea. In the face of Therese's kindness it seemed so
ungrateful. He lay back and closed his eyes with a frown, conscious
that she was watching him curiously.

"Therese," he said after a pause, "I suppose you haven't had any word
from Arthur Holliday, have you?"

"From Arthur? But yes, certainly; he telephoned me a little while ago."

Roger sat up again, galvanising into life.

"He telephoned you? What did he say? About Miss Rowe, I mean."

"I asked him. He said after they left here he had a breakdown; I
forgot what he said went wrong. The nurse was in a hurry, so he got
her a taxi, put her into it with her luggage, and she drove off.
That's all he knows."

"Oh! Did he happen to mention why he didn't go back to his hotel last
ni