For now he realised that her boasted armour was of gauze; he could see
her naked heart beating behind it; he beheld, through the shield she
lifted on high to protect them both, the moon shining with its false,
reflected light.
Never did Athalie stand in such dire need of the armour she supposed
that she was wearing.
And he must put on his own, rapidly, and rivet it fast--the inflexible
mail of character which alone can shield such souls as his--and hers.
* * * * *
When he came into his own room, a thick letter from his wife lay on
the table. Before he broke the seal he laid aside his wet garments,
being in no haste to read any more of the now incessant reproaches and
complaints with which Winifred had recently deluged him.
[Illustration: "Finally ... he cut the envelope and seated himself
beside the lamp."] Finally, when he was ready, he cut the envelope and seated himself
beside the lamp. She wrote from the house in Kent: "It was a very different matter when you were travelling
about and I could say that you were off on another exploring
expedition. But your return from South America was mentioned
in the London papers; and the fact that you are now not
only in New York but that you have also gone into business
there is known and is the subject of comment.
"I shall be, as usual, perfectly frank with you; I do not
care whether you are here or not; in fact I infinitely
prefer your absence to your presence. But your engaging in
business in New York is a very different matter, and creates
a different situation for me.
"You like to travel. Why don't you do it? I don't care to be
the subject of gossip; and I shall be--am, no doubt,
already,--because you are making the situation too plain and
too public.
"It's well enough for one's friends to surmise the condition
of affairs; no unpleasantness for me results. But let it
once become newspaper gossip and my situation among people I
most earnestly desire to cultivate would become instantly
precarious and perhaps impossible.
"It is not necessary for me to inform you what is the very
insecure status of an American woman here, particularly in
view of the Court's well known state of mind concerning
marital irregularities.
"The King's views coincide with the Queen's. And the Queen's
are perfectly well known.
"If you continue your exploring expeditions, which you
evidently like to engage in, and if you report here at
intervals for the sake of appearances, I can get on very
well and very comfortably. But if you settle in New York and
engage in business there, and continue to remain away from
this country where you are popularly supposed to maintain
residences in town and country, I shall certainly begin to
experience very disagreeably the consequences of your
selfish conduct.