registered 70 in the shade.
Nevile strolled out of the house and joined them as she spoke.
'Blaming the weather?' he asked, with a glance up at the sky. 'It is rather incredible. Hotter than ever to-day. And no wind. Makes one feel jumpy, somehow. However, I think we'll get rain before very long. To-day is just a bit too tropical to last.'
Thomas Royde had moved very gently and aimlessly away and now disappeared round the corner of the house.
'Departure of gloomy Thomas,' said Nevile. 'Nobody could say he shows any enjoyment of my company.'
'He's rather a dear,' said Mary.
'I disagree. Narrow-minded, prejudiced sort of chap.'
'He always hoped to marry Audrey, I think. And then you came along and cut him out.'
'It would have taken him about seven years to make up his mind to ask her to marry him. Did he expect the poor girl to wait about while he made up his mind?'
'Perhaps,' said Mary deliberately, 'it will all come right now.' Nevile looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
'True love rewarded? Audrey marry that wet fish? She's a lot too good for that. No, I don't see Audrey marrying gloomy Thomas.'
'I believe she is really very fond of him, Nevile.'
'What matchmakers you women always are! Can't you let Audrey enjoy her freedom for a bit?'
'If she does enjoy it, certainly.'
Nevile said quickly: 'You think she's not happy?'
'I really haven't the least idea.'
'No more have I,' said Nevile slowly. 'One never does know what Audrey is feeling.' He paused and then added, 'But Audrey is one hundred per cent thoroughbred. She's white all through.'
Then he said, more to himself than to Mary: 'God, what a damned fool I've been!'
Mary went into the house a little worried. For the third time she repeated to herself the comforting words, 'Only two days more.'
Nevile wandered restlessly about the garden and terraces.
Right at the end of the garden he found Audrey sitting on the low wall looking down at the water below. It was high tide and the river was full.
She got up at once and came towards him.
'I was just coming back to the house. It must be nearly tea-time.'
She spoke quickly and nervously without looking at him.
He walked beside her without speaking.
Only when they reached the terrace again did he say: 'Can I talk to you, Audrey?'
She said at once, her fingers gripping the edge of the balustrade: 'I think you'd better not.'
'That means you know what I want to say.' She did not answer.
'What about it, Audrey? Can't we go back to where we were? Forget everything that has happened?'
'Including Kay?'
'Kay,' said Nevile, 'will be sensible.'
'What do you mean by sensible?'
'Simply, this. I shall go to her and tell her the truth. Fling myself on her generosity. Tell her, what is true, that you are the only woman I ever loved.'
'You loved Kay when you married her.'
'My marriage to Kay was the biggest mistake I ever made. I — '
He stopped. Kay had come out of the drawing-room window. She walked towards them, and before the fury in her eyes even Nevile shrank a little.
'Sorry to interrupt this touching scene,' said Kay. 'But I think it's about time I did.'
Audrey moved away. 'I'll leave you alone,' she said. Her face and voice were colourless.
'That's right,' said Kay. 'You've done all the mischief you wanted to do, haven't you? I'll deal with you later. Just now I'd rather have it out with Nevile.'
'Look here, Kay, Audrey has absolutely nothing to do with this. It's not her fault. Blame me if you like — '
'And I do like,' said Kay. Her eyes blazed at Nevile. 'What sort of a man do you think you are?'
'A pretty poor sort of man,' said Nevile bitterly.
'You leave your wife, come bull-headed after me, get your wife to give you a divorce. Crazy about me one minute, tired of me the next! Now I suppose you want to go back to that whey-faced, mewling, double-crossing little cat — '
'Stop that, Kay!'
'Well, what do you want?'
Nevile was very white. He said: 'I'm every kind of a worm you like to call me. But it's no good, Kay, I can't go on. I think — really — I must have loved Audrey all the time. My love for you was — was a kind of madness. But it's no good, my dear — you and I don't belong. I shouldn't be able to make you happy in the long run. Believe me, Kay, it's better to cut our losses. Let's try and part friends. Be generous.'
Kay said in a deceptively quiet voice: 'What exactly are you suggesting?'
Nevile did not look at her. His chin took on a dogged angle. 'We can get a divorce. You can divorce me for desertion.'
'Not for some time. You'll have to wait for it.'
'I'll wait,' said Nevile.
'And then, after three years or whatever it is, you'll ask dear sweet Audrey to marry you all over again?'
'If she'll have me.'
'She'll have you, all right!' said Kay viciously. 'And where do I come in?'
'You'll be free to find a better man than I am. Naturally, I shall see you're well provided for — '
'Cut out the bribes!' Her voice rose as she lost control of herself: 'Listen to me, Nevile. You can't do this thing to me! I'll not divorce you. I married you because I loved you. I know when you started turning against me. It was after I let you know I followed you to Estoril. You wanted to think it was all Fate. It upset your vanity to think it was me. Well, I'm not ashamed of what I did. You fell in love with me and married me and I'm not going to let you go back to that sly little cat who's got her hooks into you again. She meant this to happen — but she's not going to bring it off! I'll kill you first. Do you hear? I'll kill you. I'll kill her, too. I'll see you both dead. I'll — '
Nevile took a step forward and caught her by the arm.
'Shut up, Kay. For goodness' sake. You can't make this kind of scene here.'
'Can't I? You'll see. I'll — '
Hurstall stepped out on the terrace. His face was quite impassive.
'Tea is served in the drawing-room,' he announced.
Kay and Nevile walked slowly towards the drawing-room window. Hurstall stood aside to let them pass in. Up in the sky the clouds were gathering.
XI
The rain started falling at a quarter to seven. Nevile watched it from the window of his bedroom. He had no further conversation with Kay. They had avoided each other after tea.
Dinner that evening was a stilted, difficult meal. Nevile was sunk in abstraction; Kay's face had an unusual amount of make-up for her; Audrey sat like a frozen ghost. Mary Aldin did her best to keep some kind of a conversation going and was slightly annoyed with Thomas Royde for not playing up to her better.
Hurstall was nervous and his hands trembled as he handed the vegetables.
As the meal drew to a close Neville said with elaborate casualness: 'Think I shall go over to Easterhead after
