Hugh was stirring.  He groaned, and threw out one of his arms; muttered, as if angrily.  She touched him, and on the instant he awoke.

’Sibyl?  Good God! that’s a queer thing —­ I dreamt that yesterday was a dream, and that I had woke up to find myself ——­ Did you ever do that —­ dream you were dreaming?’

She stroked his head, laughing playfully.

’You’ve had a good long night.  Don’t you feel better?  Shall I bring you some breakfast here?’

‘No; I must get up.  What’s the time?  Miles will be coming.’

Sibyl knew that the Major would not be here until two o’clock; but she said nothing, and left him to dress.

On the breakfast-table were delicacies to tempt his palate, but Hugh turned from them.  He ate for a few minutes only, without appetite, and, as on the day before, Sibyl was annoyed by the strange rudeness with which he fed himself; he seemed to have forgotten the habits of refinement at table.  Afterwards he lighted a cigar, but soon threw it aside; tobacco made him sick.  In the drawing-room he moved aimlessly about, blundering now and then against a piece of furniture, and muttering a curse.  The clothes he wore, out of his old wardrobe, hung loose about him; he had a stoop in the shoulders.

‘Sibyl, what are we going to do?’

For this she had waited.  She sat looking at him with a compassionate smile.  It was an odd thing if this poor broken-down man could not be made subservient to her will.

’I still think, dear boy, that we ought to accept Lady Isobel’s invitation.’

A nervous paroxysm shook him.

‘Damn Lady Isobel!  I thought that was done with.’

’I don’t think you would speak of her like that, Hugh, if you knew all her kindness to me.  I couldn’t tell you all yesterday.  May I now?  Or shall I only irritate you?’

’What is it?  Of course, I don’t want you to offend her.  But I suppose she has common-sense?’

’More than most women.  There’s no fear of offending her.  I have another reason.  Come and sit quietly by me, and let us talk as we used to do.  Do you know, dear, it’s a good thing for me that I had powerful friends; I needed all their help against my enemies.’

‘What enemies?’

’Have you forgotten what you yourself said, and felt so strongly, at that time —­ what a danger I was exposed to when we determined to tell the whole truth?  You knew what some people would say.’

’They’ve said it, no doubt; and what harm has it done you?  Tell me a name, and if it’s a man ——­’

’Don’t!  I can’t bear to see that look on your face, Hugh.  You could do nothing but endless harm, trying to defend me that way.  I have lived it down, thinking of you even more than of myself.  There was a time when I almost despaired; people are so glad to think evil.  If I had been a weak woman, I should have run away and hidden myself; and then everybody would have said, “I told