perfectly true; Charles could not protect himself because he could not
learn that others were not as kindly as himself. He had been trapped
into marriage with that vulgar and venomous woman. He could not speak
of it because he loathed it so much.... She found excuses for him, for
herself she sought none, and at the back of all her thoughts was her
firm will that he should succeed. Yes, she thought, it was a good
thing to leave him for a while. She had been with him too much, too
near him.

It was a great comfort to be with Julia and Freeland, that unreal Romeo
and Juliet of middle age. They were very proud of her, and elated to
have her with them, took her everywhere, introduced her to all their
friends, and insisted upon her being photographed for the Press, and in
due course she had the shock of seeing her own features, almost more
than life-size, exhibited to the hurrying crowds on the
station-platforms. She was called Clara Day, Sir Henry Butcher's
youngest and prettiest recruit. From the shy, studious little girl who
sat close and, if possible, hidden during rehearsals, she found that
she had become in the estimation of the company one of themselves. It
was known that she had had lunch alone with Sir Henry, and the
publication of her photograph sealed her young reputation. With the
interest of the Chief, and influence in the Press, it was accepted that
she would go far. That she was Mrs Charles Mann was whispered, for
apparently she only had been ignorant of the impediment.

She apprehended the situation instinctively. Her mind recoiled from
it. She felt trapped. Whichever way she moved she would injure
him.... She ought to have kept quietly in the background, and let him
go his own way. By forcing him into the theatre he and his affairs
were exposed to the glaring light of publicity through her own
impetuous ambition for him.

Soon she was in an intolerable agony. She wrote to Charles every day,
and saw him occasionally, but was tortured every moment with the idea
that her mere presence was injurious to him, and might call down an
attack from the jealous Kitty at any moment. On the other hand, at any
moment some journalist might seize on the story of her arrival in
London with Charles, and publish the fact of their marriage.... She
stayed on with Julia, and let the days go by until at last she felt
that it was unfair to her kind friends. One night, therefore, after
the theatre, she went int