Her face was suddenly cold and hard.

“You mean that you will not!” she exclaimed angrily.  “You are obstinate.  I do not know how you dare to refuse what I ask.”

The car had come to a standstill.  He stepped out on to the pavement.

“This is Grantham House, madam,” he announced.  “Will you descend?”

He heard her draw a quick breath between her teeth and he caught a gleam in her eyes which made him feel vaguely uneasy.  She was very angry indeed.

“I do not think that it is necessary for me to do so,” she said frigidly.  “I do not like the look of the house at all.  I do not believe that it will suit me.”

“At least, now that you are here,” he protested, “you will, if you please, go over it.  I should like you to see the ballroom.  The decorations are supposed to be quite exceptional.”

She hesitated for a moment and then, with a slight shrug of the shoulders, she yielded.  There was a note in his tone not exactly insistent, and yet dominant, a note which she obeyed although secretly she wondered at herself for doing so.  They passed inside the house and she followed him from room to room, leaving him to do all the talking.  She seemed very little interested but every now and then she asked a languid question.

“I do not think that it is in the least likely to suit me,” she decided at last.  “It is all very magnificent, of course, but I consider that the rent is exorbitant.”

Tavernake regarded her thoughtfully.

“I believe,” he said, " that our client might be disposed to consider some reduction, in the event of your seriously entertaining taking the house.  If you like, I will see him on the subject.  I feel sure that the amount I have mentioned could be reduced, if the other conditions were satisfactory.”

“There would be no harm in your doing so,” she assented.  “How soon can you come and let me know’”

“I might be able to ring you up this evening; certainly to-morrow morning,” he answered.

She shook her head.

“I will not speak upon the telephone,” she declared.  “I only allow it in my rooms under protest.  You must come and tell me what your client says.  When can you see him?”

“It is doubtful whether I shall be able to find him this evening,” he replied.  “It would probably be to-morrow morning.”

“You might go and try at once,” she suggested.

He was a little surprised.

“You are really interested in the matter, then?” he inquired.

“Yes, yes,” she told him, “of course I am interested.  I want you to come and see me directly you have heard.  It is important.  Supposing you are able to find your client to-night, shall you have seen the young lady before then?”

“I am afraid not,” he answered.

“You must try,” she begged, laying her fingers upon his shoulder.  “Mr. Tavernake, do please try.  You can’t realize what all this anxiety means to me.  I am not at all well and I am seriously worried about -about that young lady.  I tell you that I must have an interview with her.  It is not for my sake so much as hers.  She must be warned.”