When I came back Mme. Storey was saying: "Have you heard that Darius Whittall is going to marry Fay Brunton?"
"That was a foregone conclusion, wasn't it?" said Mr. Govett with a shrug.
"Not to me!"
"Ah, yes, of course, the adorable Brunton is a friend of yours." I could see by his eyes that he was thinking: Is this what I was brought here for?
"Is Whittall a friend of yours?" asked Mme. Storey.
"No!" he said shortly.
"Barry, you and I have known each other for a good many years,"
"You considered that Mrs. Whittall was an unhappy woman?" asked Mme. Storey.
The girl nodded. "But I never heard her complain," she added quickly.
"Had she ever spoken of adopting a child?"
"Not seriously, Madame. Once I heard her say that a child was entitled to a father as well as a mother."