’She got carried away by the excitement of her life in Paris, and he was all mixed up with that.  I think she felt she would, in a way, be carrying on the excitement and the life if she married him.  And she was knocked over by his beauty.  Then, when the haze and glamour had cleared away, and she was left face to face with him as a life companion, she found she couldn’t do with him after all.  He bored her and annoyed her more and more.  I don’t know how long she could have gone on with it; she never said anything, to me about it.  But, now this has happened, what might have become a great difficulty is solved.’

‘Solved,’ he repeated, in a curious, dead voice, staring at the floor.  ’I suppose it is.’

He was silent for quite five minutes, sitting quite still, with his black eyes absent and vacant, as if he were very tired.  I knew he was trying to think out some problem, and I supposed I knew what it was.  But I couldn’t account then for his extreme unhappiness.

At last he said, ’Katherine.  This is a mess.  I can’t tell you about it, but it is a mess.  Jane and I are in a mess....  Oh, you’ve guessed, haven’t you, about Jane and me?  Juke guessed.’

’Yes.  I guessed that before Jukie did.  Before you did, as a matter of fact.’

‘You did?’ But he wasn’t much interested.  ‘Then you see ...’

’Not altogether, Arthur.  I can’t see it’s a mess, exactly.  A shock, of course ...’

He looked at me for a moment, as if he were adjusting his point of view to mine.

’Well, no.  You wouldn’t see it, of course.  But there’s more to this than you know—­much more.  Anyhow, please take my word for it that it is a mess.  A ghastly mess.’

I took his word for it.  As there didn’t seem to be any comment to make, I made none, but waited for him to go on.  He went on.

’And what I wanted to ask you, Katherine, was, can you look after Jane a little?  She’ll need it; she needs it.  She’s got to get through it somehow....  And that family of hers always buzzing round....  If we could keep Lady Pinkerton off her ...’

‘You want me to mix a poison for Lady P?’ I suggested.

Arthur must have been very far through, for he actually started.

’Oh, Heaven forbid....  One sudden death in the family is enough at a time,’ he added feebly, trying to smile.

‘Well,’ I said, ’I’ll do my best to see after Jane and to counteract the family....  I’ve not gone there or written, or anything yet, because I didn’t want to butt in.  But I will.’

‘I wish she’d come back here and live with you,’ he said.

To soothe him, I said I would ask her.

For nearly an hour longer he stayed, not talking much, but smoking hard, and from time to time jerking out a disconnected remark.  I think he hardly knew what he was saying or doing that evening; he seemed dazed, and I noticed that his hands were shaking, as if he was feverish, or drunk, or something.