“I give it up!” breathed Rachel intimately.  “I fairly give it up!”

“And of course that was the cause of her attack?” he said suddenly, as if the idea had just occurred to him.

Rachel nodded—­“Evidently.”

“Well,” said he, “I’ll look in again during the afternoon.  I must be getting along for my grub.”  He was hoping that he had not unintentionally brought about his aunt’s death.

“Not had your dinner!” she cried.  “Why!  It’s after half-past two!”

“Oh, well, you know ...  Saturday....”

“I shall get you a bit of dinner here,” she said.  “And then perhaps Mrs. Maldon will be waking up.  Yes,” she repeated, positively, “I shall get you a bit of dinner here, myself.  Mrs. Maldon would not be at all pleased if I didn’t.”

“I’m frightfully hungry,” he admitted.

And he was.

When she had left the parlour he perceived evidences here and there that she had been hunting up hill and down dale for the notes; and he went into the back room with an earnest, examining air, as though he might find part of the missing hoard, after all, in some niche overlooked by Rachel.  He would have preferred to think that Mrs. Maldon had not taken the whole of the money upstairs, but reflection did much to convince him that she had.  It was infinitely regrettable that he had not counted his treasure-trove under the chair.

IV

The service of his meal, which had the charm of a picnic, was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor, whose report on the invalid, however, was so favourable that Louis could quite dismiss the possibly homicidal aspect of his dealings with the bank-notes.  The shock of the complete disappearance of the vast sum had perhaps brought Mrs. Maldon to the brink of death, but she had edged safely away again, in accordance with her own calm prophecy that very morning.  When the doctor had gone, and the patient was indulged in her desire to be left alone for sleep, Louis very slowly and luxuriously finished his repast, with Rachel sitting opposite to him, in Mrs. Maldon’s place, at the dining-table.  He lit a cigarette and, gracefully leaning his elbows on the table, gazed at her through the beautiful grey smoke-veil, which was like the clouds of Paradise.

What thrilled Louis was the obvious fact that he fascinated her.  She was transformed under his glance.  How her eyes shone!  How her cheek flushed and paled!  What passionate vitality found vent in her little gestures!  But in the midst of this transformation her honesty, her loyalty, her exquisite ingenuousness, her superb dependability remained.  She was no light creature, no flirt nor seeker after dubious sensations.  He felt that at last he was appreciated by one whose appreciation was tremendously worth having.  He was confirmed in that private opinion of himself that no mistakes hitherto made in his career had been able to destroy.  He felt happy and confident as never before.