as
possible to that.

Fortunately, when he had sprung out of bed the feeling became less
poignant. By the time he had had his bath and his breakfast it had got
itself within the limits of what could be expressed in the statement:
"I've been a jolly ass."

Though there was no denying this fact, he could nevertheless use the
reproach in its precise signification. He was not a jolly ass because he
had remained true to Olivia Guion, but because of the extravagant
methods of his faithfulness. No one but an Umfraville, he declared,
would have hesitated to accept the _status quo_. Considering that in
spite of everything he was still eager to give Olivia the shelter of his
name and the advantages of his position, his insistence on doing more
fell short of the grotesque.

Nevertheless he had insisted on it, and it was too late to shrink from
making good his offer. No doubt, if he did so shrink, Olivia would
commend him; but it would be a commendation not inconsistent with a fall
in her esteem. His nerves still tingled with the joy of hearing her say,
as she had said yesterday: "You're the noblest man in the world; I never
dreamed there could be any one like you." She was so sparing with her
words that these meant more from her than from another. If she used
them, it was because she thought he _was_ the noblest man in the world
and because he _did_ surpass her dreams. This was setting up the
standard in a way that permitted no falling short of it. He must be
Rupert Ashley at his best even if the world went to pieces while he made
the attempt. Moreover, if he failed, there was always Peter Davenant
ready to loom up above him. "I must keep higher than him," he said to
himself, "whatever it costs me." So, little by little, the Umfraville in
him also woke, with its daredevil chivalry. It might be said to have
urged him on, while the Ashley prudence held him back, when from his
room in the hotel he communicated by telephone with Olivia, begging her
to arrange an interview between Guion and himself about eleven o'clock.

* * * * *

On taking the message to her father Olivia found him awake, but still in
bed. Since his downfall had become generally known, she had noticed a
reluctance on his part to get up. It was true he was not well; but his
shrinking from activity was beyond what his degree of illness warranted.
It was a day or two before she learned to view this seeming indolence as
nothing but th