"Why, she's just a ditcher," he interrupted.
"If that means a horrid old tub, she was," I assented, "but Captain and Mrs. Hayes-Billington could not afford the P. and O."
I next proceeded to draw an attractive, not to say rosy, picture of the delights of Silliram--tennis tournaments, dancing and picnics. Then I came to a full stop and an appreciable silence ensued.
"So you were up there for six whole weeks and have never said a word about it?"
"There is a reason for it," I answered, looking at him steadily. "Ronnie and Mrs. Soames know, and so by great bad luck does Mr. Balthasar. He was at Silliram and dined with us one night."
"Well, for Heaven's sake hurry on and tell me this mysterious reason, before I go clean mad."
For a moment I paused, figuratively to pull myself together. At last I said:
"Why do you ask?" he said sharply. "What can _you_ know about her?"
"Only--that Mrs. Hayes-Billington was formerly Mrs. de Lacy."
On hearing this announcement Captain Falkland turned hastily round so as to confront me face to face; he looked almost pale.
"_What_ did you say?" he demanded, speaking in a hard voice, strangely unlike his usual tone.
"Exactly what I have told you," I replied. "Of course I need not assure you we never knew this at Torrington, but you can't very well ask a lady for her reference or character as if she were a housemaid. Mrs. Hayes-Billington was received with open arms at Silliram, she became a great social success, and was taking the principal part in _The Scrap of Paper_ when one of the audience recognised her and gave her away."
"So I should hope. Fancy that woman daring to undertake to chaperon a young girl! Well, tell me what happened next?"
"A man who called on us recognised her and wrote down to Ronnie. He arrived the very morning after the explosion and took me off at once. The whole station was shaken to its foundation; there was a tremendous social earthquake, and Mrs. Hayes-Billington was cast out of the club just as if she had been a live cobra. I may confess to you that in my heart I pitied her. Like some drowning creature she had struggled to the bank, but was seized and flung back into deep water."
"_Now_ I can understand why Mrs. Soames was so anxious to conceal the date of your arrival in India," he observed, entirely ignoring my protest, "and so far she has been wonderfully successful."