'
'Oh no! It does not concern the events prior to your--accident.'
Mr. Wyvern savoured the word. 'How long did she remain in attendance
upon you?'
'A short time--two day--I did not need--'
Mr. Wyvern motioned with his hand, kindly.
'Then I was not mistaken,' he said, averting his eyes for the first
time, 'in thinking that I saw her in Paris.'
'In Paris?' Hubert repeated, with a poor affectation of
indifference.
'I made a short stay before crossing. I had business at a bank one
day; as I stood before the counter a gentleman entered and took a
place beside me. A second look assured me that he was the man who
met me at the edge of the wood that morning. I suppose he remembered
me, for he looked away and moved from me. I left the bank, and found
an open carriage waiting at the door. In it sat the lady of whom we
speak. I took a turn along the pavement and back again. The
Frenchman entered the carriage; they drove away.'
Hubert's eyes were veiled; he breathed through his nostrils. Again
there was silence.
'Mr. Eldon,' resumed the vicar, 'I was a man of the world before I
became a Churchman; you will notice that I affect no professional
tone in speaking with you, and it is because I know that anything of
the kind would only alienate you. It appeared to me that chance had
made me aware of something it might concern you to hear.
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