“All the more dangerous for Liosha to associate with such a villain.”

He waved the suggestion aside.  No fear of that, said he.  It was not Liosha’s game.  Hers was an Amazonian kind of chastity.  Here I agreed with him.

“All the less reason,” said I, “for you to stay in London, so as to look after her.”

“But I don’t like her to be seen about in the fellow’s company.  She’ll get a bad name.”

“Look here,” said I, “the idea of a vast, hairy chap like you devoting his life to keeping a couple of young widows out of mischief is too preposterous.  Try me with something else.”

Then, being in good humour, he told me the real reason.  He was writing another book.

He was writing another novel and he did not want any one to know.  He was getting along famously.  He had had the story in his head for a long time.  Glad to talk about it; sketched the outline very picturesquely.  Perhaps I was more vitally interested in the development of the man Jaffery than in the story.  A queer thing had happened.  The born novelist had just discovered himself and clamoured for artistic self-expression.  He was writing this book just because he could not help it, finding gladness in the mere work, delighting in the mechanics of the thing, and letting himself go in the joy of the narrative.  What was going to become of it when written, I did not enquire.  It was rather too delicate a matter.  Jaffery Chayne could be nothing else than Jaffery Chayne.  A new novel published by him would resemble “The Greater Glory” as closely as “Pendennis” resembles “Philip.”  And then there would be the deuce to pay.  If he published it under his own name, he would render himself liable to the charge of having stolen a novel from the dead author of “The Greater Glory,” and so complicate this already complicated web of literary theft; and if he threw sufficient dust into the eyes of Doria to enable him to publish under Adrian’s name, he would be performing the task of the altruistic bees immortalised by Virgil.

Anyhow, there he was, perfectly happy, pegging away at his novel, looking after Doria, pretending to look after Liosha, and enjoying the society of the few cronies, chiefly adventurous birds of passage like himself, who happened to be passing through London.  Being a man of modest needs, save need of mere bulk of simple food, he found his small patrimony and the savings from his professional earnings quite adequate for amenable existence.  When he wanted healthy, fresh air he came down to us to see Susan; when he wanted anything else he went to see Doria, which was almost daily.