"That may be a slight exaggeration," returned Kitty. "Still, I think you could travel now. And your coming down to Mallow will rather ease things."
"Your meeting with Lady Gertrude, for one. You may have forgotten--though you can be sure she hasn't!--that you left Trenby Hall rather unceremoniously! And then your illness immediately afterwards prevented your making your peace with her."
Nan's face changed. The light seemed to die out of her eyes.
"I'd almost forgotten Lady Gertrude," she said painfully.
"I don't think you'll find it difficult to meet her again," replied Kitty. "Roger stopped in town all through the time you were really dangerously ill--"
"Did he?" interrupted Nan. "That was--rather nice of him, considering how I'd treated him."
"Do you still mean to marry the fellow?" asked Barry, bluntly.
"Yes." The monosyllable fell slowly but quite convincingly. "Why hasn't he been to see me lately?" she added after a moment.
"Because I asked him not to," answered Kitty. "He stayed in London till you were out of danger. After that I bustled him off home, and told him I should only bring you down to Mallow if he could induce Lady Gertrude to behave decently to you."
"You seem to have ordered him about pretty considerably," remarked Nan with a faint smile.
"Oh, he was quite meek with me," returned Kitty. "He had to be. I told him his only chance was to keep away from you, to manage Lady Gertrude properly, and not to worry you with letters."
"So that's why he hasn't written? I've wondered, sometimes."
Nan was silent for a time. Then she said quietly:
Followed a still longer pause. At last Kitty broke it reluctantly:
Nan glanced up quickly, detecting some special significance in her tones.
Kitty made a gesture to her husband that he should leave them alone. When he had gone:
"It's about Peter," she said, then paused unhappily.
"Yes. Go on. Peter and I are only friends now. We've--we've worked up quite a presentable sort of friendship since my illness, you know. What is there to tell me?"
"You know that Celia, his wife, has been out in India for some years. Well--"
"Yes. She's been very ill with sunstroke. And she's ordered home as soon as she is able to travel."
Nan made no answer for a moment. Then she said almost under her breath: