III + 

Miss BartтАЩs telegram caught Lawrence Selden at the door of his hotel; and having read it, he turned back to wait for Dorset. The message necessarily left large gaps for conjecture; but all that he had recently heard and seen made these but too easy to fill in. On the whole he was surprised; for though he had perceived that the situation contained all the elements of an explosion, he had often enough, in the range of his personal experience, seen just such combinations subside into harmlessness. Still, DorsetтАЩs spasmodic temper, and his wifeтАЩs reckless disregard of appearances, gave the situation a peculiar insecurity; and it was less from the sense of any special relation to the case than from a purely professional zeal, that Selden resolved to guide the pair to safety. Whether, in the present instance, safety for either lay in repairing so damaged a tie, it was no business of his to consider: he had only, on general principles, to think of averting a scandal, and his desire to avert it was increased by his fear of its involving Miss Bart. There was nothing specific in this apprehension; he merely wished to spare her the embarrassment of being ever so remotely connected with the public washing of the Dorset linen. + 

How exhaustive and unpleasant such a process would be, he saw even more vividly after his two hoursтАЩ talk with poor Dorset. If anything came out at all, it would be such a vast unpacking of accumulated moral rags as left him, after his visitor had gone, with the feeling that he must fling open the windows and have his room swept out. But nothing should come out; and happily for his side of the case, the dirty rags, however pieced together, could not, without considerable difficulty, be turned into a homogeneous grievance. The torn edges did not always fitтБатАФthere were missing bits, there were disparities of size and colour, all of which it was naturally SeldenтАЩs business to make the most of in putting them under his clientтАЩs eye. But to a man in DorsetтАЩs mood the completest demonstration could not carry conviction, and Selden saw that for the moment all he could do was to soothe and temporize, to offer sympathy and to counsel prudence. He let Dorset depart charged to the brim with the sense that, till their next meeting, he must maintain a strictly noncommittal attitude; that, in short, his share in the game consisted for the present in looking on. Selden knew, however, that he could not long keep such violences in equilibrium; and he promised to meet Dorset, the next morning, at an hotel in Monte Carlo. Meanwhile he counted not a little on the reaction of weakness and self-distrust that, in such natures, follows on every unwonted expenditure of moral force; and his telegraphic reply to Miss Bart consisted simply in the injunction: тАЬAssume that everything is as usual.тАЭ + 

On this assumption, in fact, the early part of the following day was lived through. Dorset, as if in obedience to LilyтАЩs imperative bidding, had actually returned in time for a late dinner on the yacht. The repast had been the most difficult moment of the day. Dorset was sunk in one of the abysmal silences which so commonly followed on what his wife called his тАЬattacksтАЭ that it was easy, before the servants, to refer it to this cause; but Bertha herself seemed, perversely enough, little disposed to make use of this obvious means of protection. She simply left the brunt of the situation on her husbandтАЩs hands, as if too absorbed in a grievance of her own to suspect that she might be the object of one herself. To Lily this attitude was the most ominous, because the most perplexing, element in the situation. As she tried to fan the weak flicker of talk, to build up, again and again, the crumbling structure of тАЬappearances,тАЭ her own attention was perpetually distracted by the question: тАЬWhat on earth can she be driving at?тАЭ There was something positively exasperating in BerthaтАЩs attitude of isolated defiance. If only she would have given her friend a hint they might still have worked together successfully; but how could Lily be of use, while she was thus obstinately shut out from participation? To be of use was what she honestly wanted; and not for her own sake but for the DorsetsтАЩ. She had not thought of her own situation at all: she was simply engrossed in trying to put a little order in theirs. But the close of the short dreary evening left her with a sense of effort hopelessly wasted. She had not tried to see Dorset alone: she had positively shrunk from a renewal of his confidences. It was Bertha whose confidence she sought, and who should as eagerly have invited her own; and Bertha, as if in the infatuation of self-destruction, was actually pushing away her rescuing hand. + 

Lily, going to bed early, had left the couple to themselves; and it seemed part of the general mystery in which she moved that more than an hour should elapse before she heard Bertha walk down the silent passage and regain her room. The morrow, rising on an apparent continuance of the same conditions, revealed nothing of what had occurred between the confronted pair. One fact alone outwardly proclaimed the change they were all conspiring to ignore; and that was the nonappearance of Ned Silverton. No one referred to it, and this tacit avoidance of the subject kept it in the immediate foreground of consciousness. But there was another change, perceptible only to Lily; and that was that Dorset now avoided her almost as pointedly as his wife. Perhaps he was repenting his rash outpourings of the previous day; perhaps only trying, in his clumsy way, to conform to SeldenтАЩs counsel to behave тАЬas usual.тАЭ Such instructions no more make for easiness of attitude than the photographerтАЩs behest to тАЬlook naturalтАЭ; and in a creature as unconscious as poor Dorset of the appearance he habitually presented, the struggle to maintain a pose was sure to result in queer contortions. + 

It resulted, at any rate, in throwing Lily strangely on her own resources. She had learned, on leaving her room, that Mrs.┬аDorset was still invisible, and that Dorset had left the yacht early; and feeling too restless to remain alone, she too had herself ferried ashore. Straying toward the Casino, she attached herself to a group of acquaintances from Nice, with whom she lunched, and in whose company she was returning to the rooms when she encountered Selden crossing the square. She could not, at the moment, separate herself definitely from her party, who had hospitably assumed that she would remain with them till they took their departure; but she found time for a momentary pause of enquiry, to which he promptly returned: тАЬIтАЩve seen him againтБатАФheтАЩs just left me.тАЭ + 

She waited before him anxiously. тАЬWell? what has happened? What will happen?тАЭ + 

тАЬNothing as yetтБатАФand nothing in the future, I think.тАЭ + 

тАЬItтАЩs over, then? ItтАЩs settled? YouтАЩre sure?тАЭ + 

He smiled. тАЬGive me time. IтАЩm not sureтБатАФbut IтАЩm a good deal surer.тАЭ And with that she had to content herself, and hasten on to the expectant group on the steps. + 

Selden had in fact given her the utmost measure of his sureness, had even stretched it a shade to meet the anxiety in her eyes. And now, as he turned away, strolling down the hill toward the station, that anxiety remained with him as the visible justification of his own. It was not, indeed, anything specific that he feared: there had been a literal truth in his declaration that he did not think anything would happen. What troubled him was that, though DorsetтАЩs attitude had perceptibly changed, the change was not clearly to be accounted for. It had certainly not been produced by SeldenтАЩs arguments, or by the action of his own soberer reason. Five minutesтАЩ talk sufficed to show that some alien influence had been at work, and that it had not so much subdued his resentment as weakened his will, so that he moved under it in a state of apathy, like a dangerous lunatic who has been drugged. Temporarily, no doubt, however exerted, it worked for the general safety: the question was how long it would last, and by what kind of reaction it was likely to be followed. On these points Selden could gain no light; for he saw that one effect of the transformation had been to shut him off from free communion with Dorset. The latter, indeed, was still moved by the irresistible desire to discuss his wrong; but, though he revolved about it with the same forlorn tenacity, Selden was aware that something always restrained him from full expression. His state was one to produce first weariness and then impatience in his hearer; and when their talk was over, Selden began to feel that he had done his utmost, and might justifiably wash his hands of the sequel. + 

It was in this mind that he had been making his way back to the station when Miss Bart crossed his path; but though, after his brief word with her, he kept mechanically on his course, he was conscious of a gradual change in his purpose. The change had been produced by the look in her eyes; and in his eagerness to define the nature of that look, he dropped into a seat in the gardens, and sat brooding upon the question. It was natural enough, in all conscience, that she should appear anxious: a young woman placed, in the close intimacy of a yachting-cruise, between a couple on the verge of disaster, could hardly, aside from her concern for her friends, be insensible to the awkwardness of her own position. The worst of it was that, in interpreting Miss BartтАЩs state of mind, so many alternative readings were possible; and one of these, in SeldenтАЩs troubled mind, took the ugly form suggested by Mrs.┬аFisher. If the girl was afraid, was she afraid for herself or for her friends? And to what degree was her dread of a catastrophe intensified by the sense of being fatally involved in it? The burden of offence lying manifestly with Mrs.┬аDorset, this conjecture seemed on the face of it gratuitously unkind; but Selden knew that in the most one-sided matrimonial quarrel there are generally counter-charges to be brought, and that they are brought with the greater audacity where the original grievance is so emphatic. Mrs.┬аFisher had not hesitated to suggest the likelihood of DorsetтАЩs marrying Miss Bart if тАЬanything happenedтАЭ; and though Mrs.┬аFisherтАЩs conclusions were notoriously rash, she was shrewd enough in reading the signs from which they were drawn. Dorset had apparently shown marked interest in the girl, and this interest might be used to cruel advantage in his wifeтАЩs struggle for rehabilitation. Selden knew that Bertha would fight to the last round of powder: the rashness of her conduct was illogically combined with a cold determination to escape its consequences. She could be as unscrupulous in fighting for herself as she was reckless in courting danger, and whatever came to her hand at such moments was likely to be used as a defensive missile. He did not, as yet, see clearly just what course she was likely to take, but his perplexity increased his apprehension, and with it the sense that, before leaving, he must speak again with Miss Bart. Whatever her share in the situationтБатАФand he had always honestly tried to resist judging her by her surroundingsтБатАФhowever free she might be from any personal connection with it, she would be better out of the way of a possible crash; and since she had appealed to him for help, it was clearly his business to tell her so. + 

This decision at last brought him to his feet, and carried him back to the gambling rooms, within whose doors he had seen her disappearing; but a prolonged exploration of the crowd failed to put him on her traces. He saw instead, to his surprise, Ned Silverton loitering somewhat ostentatiously about the tables; and the discovery that this actor in the drama was not only hovering in the wings, but actually inviting the exposure of the footlights, though it might have seemed to imply that all peril was over, served rather to deepen SeldenтАЩs sense of foreboding. Charged with this impression he returned to the square, hoping to see Miss Bart move across it, as everyone in Monte Carlo seemed inevitably to do at least a dozen times a day; but here again he waited vainly for a glimpse of her, and the conclusion was slowly forced on him that she had gone back to the Sabrina. It would be difficult to follow her there, and still more difficult, should he do so, to contrive the opportunity for a private word; and he had almost decided on the unsatisfactory alternative of writing, when the ceaseless diorama of the square suddenly unrolled before him the figures of Lord Hubert and Mrs.┬аBry. + 

Hailing them at once with his question, he learned from Lord Hubert that Miss Bart had just returned to the Sabrina in DorsetтАЩs company; an announcement so evidently disconcerting to him that Mrs.┬аBry, after a glance from her companion, which seemed to act like the pressure on a spring, brought forth the prompt proposal that he should come and meet his friends at dinner that eveningтБатАФтАЬAt B├йcassinтАЩsтБатАФa little dinner to the Duchess,тАЭ she flashed out before Lord Hubert had time to remove the pressure. + 

SeldenтАЩs sense of the privilege of being included in such company brought him early in the evening to the door of the restaurant, where he paused to scan the ranks of diners approaching down the brightly lit terrace. There, while the Brys hovered within over the last agitating alternatives of the menu, he kept watch for the guests from the Sabrina, who at length rose on the horizon in company with the Duchess, Lord and Lady Skiddaw and the Stepneys. From this group it was easy for him to detach Miss Bart on the pretext of a momentтАЩs glance into one of the brilliant shops along the terrace, and to say to her, while they lingered together in the white dazzle of a jewellerтАЩs window: тАЬI stopped over to see youтБатАФto beg of you to leave the yacht.тАЭ + 

The eyes she turned on him showed a quick gleam of her former fear. тАЬTo leaveтБатАФ? What do you mean? What has happened?тАЭ + 

тАЬNothing. But if anything should, why be in the way of it?тАЭ + 

The glare from the jewellerтАЩs window, deepening the pallor of her face, gave to its delicate lines the sharpness of a tragic mask. тАЬNothing will, I am sure; but while thereтАЩs even a doubt left, how can you think I would leave Bertha?тАЭ + 

The words rang out on a note of contemptтБатАФwas it possibly of contempt for himself? Well, he was willing to risk its renewal to the extent of insisting, with an undeniable throb of added interest: тАЬYou have yourself to think of, you knowтБатАФтАЭ to which, with a strange fall of sadness in her voice, she answered, meeting his eyes: тАЬIf you knew how little difference that makes!тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, well, nothing will happen,тАЭ he said, more for his own reassurance than for hers; and тАЬNothing, nothing, of course!тАЭ she valiantly assented, as they turned to overtake their companions. + 

In the thronged restaurant, taking their places about Mrs.┬аBryтАЩs illuminated board, their confidence seemed to gain support from the familiarity of their surroundings. Here were Dorset and his wife once more presenting their customary faces to the world, she engrossed in establishing her relation with an intensely new gown, he shrinking with dyspeptic dread from the multiplied solicitations of the menu. The mere fact that they thus showed themselves together, with the utmost openness the place afforded, seemed to declare beyond a doubt that their differences were composed. How this end had been attained was still matter for wonder, but it was clear that for the moment Miss Bart rested confidently in the result; and Selden tried to achieve the same view by telling himself that her opportunities for observation had been ampler than his own. + 

Meanwhile, as the dinner advanced through a labyrinth of courses, in which it became clear that Mrs.┬аBry had occasionally broken away from Lord HubertтАЩs restraining hand, SeldenтАЩs general watchfulness began to lose itself in a particular study of Miss Bart. It was one of the days when she was so handsome that to be handsome was enough, and all the restтБатАФher grace, her quickness, her social felicitiesтБатАФseemed the overflow of a bounteous nature. But what especially struck him was the way in which she detached herself, by a hundred undefinable shades, from the persons who most abounded in her own style. It was in just such company, the fine flower and complete expression of the state she aspired to, that the differences came out with special poignancy, her grace cheapening the other womenтАЩs smartness as her finely-discriminated silences made their chatter dull. The strain of the last hours had restored to her face the deeper eloquence which Selden had lately missed in it, and the bravery of her words to him still fluttered in her voice and eyes. Yes, she was matchlessтБатАФit was the one word for her; and he could give his admiration the freer play because so little personal feeling remained in it. His real detachment from her had taken place, not at the lurid moment of disenchantment, but now, in the sober after-light of discrimination, where he saw her definitely divided from him by the crudeness of a choice which seemed to deny the very differences he felt in her. It was before him again in its completenessтБатАФthe choice in which she was content to rest: in the stupid costliness of the food and the showy dullness of the talk, in the freedom of speech which never arrived at wit and the freedom of act which never made for romance. The strident setting of the restaurant, in which their table seemed set apart in a special glare of publicity, and the presence at it of little Dabham of the тАЬRiviera Notes,тАЭ emphasized the ideals of a world where conspicuousness passed for distinction, and the society column had become the roll of fame. + 

It was as the immortalizer of such occasions that little Dabham, wedged in modest watchfulness between two brilliant neighbours, suddenly became the centre of SeldenтАЩs scrutiny. How much did he know of what was going on, and how much, for his purpose, was still worth finding out? His little eyes were like tentacles thrown out to catch the floating intimations with which, to Selden, the air at moments seemed thick; then again it cleared to its normal emptiness, and he could see nothing in it for the journalist but leisure to note the elegance of the ladiesтАЩ gowns. Mrs.┬аDorsetтАЩs, in particular, challenged all the wealth of Mr.┬аDabhamтАЩs vocabulary: it had surprises and subtleties worthy of what he would have called тАЬthe literary style.тАЭ At first, as Selden had noticed, it had been almost too preoccupying to its wearer; but now she was in full command of it, and was even producing her effects with unwonted freedom. Was she not, indeed, too free, too fluent, for perfect naturalness? And was not Dorset, to whom his glance had passed by a natural transition, too jerkily wavering between the same extremes? Dorset indeed was always jerky; but it seemed to Selden that tonight each vibration swung him farther from his centre. + 

The dinner, meanwhile, was moving to its triumphant close, to the evident satisfaction of Mrs.┬аBry, who, throned in apoplectic majesty between Lord Skiddaw and Lord Hubert, seemed in spirit to be calling on Mrs.┬аFisher to witness her achievement. Short of Mrs.┬аFisher her audience might have been called complete; for the restaurant was crowded with persons mainly gathered there for the purpose of spectatorship, and accurately posted as to the names and faces of the celebrities they had come to see. Mrs.┬аBry, conscious that all her feminine guests came under that heading, and that each one looked her part to admiration, shone on Lily with all the pent-up gratitude that Mrs.┬аFisher had failed to deserve. Selden, catching the glance, wondered what part Miss Bart had played in organizing the entertainment. She did, at least, a great deal to adorn it; and as he watched the bright security with which she bore herself, he smiled to think that he should have fancied her in need of help. Never had she appeared more serenely mistress of the situation than when, at the moment of dispersal, detaching herself a little from the group about the table, she turned with a smile and a graceful slant of the shoulders to receive her cloak from Dorset. + 

The dinner had been protracted over Mr.┬аBryтАЩs exceptional cigars and a bewildering array of liqueurs, and many of the other tables were empty; but a sufficient number of diners still lingered to give relief to the leave-taking of Mrs.┬аBryтАЩs distinguished guests. This ceremony was drawn out and complicated by the fact that it involved, on the part of the Duchess and Lady Skiddaw, definite farewells, and pledges of speedy reunion in Paris, where they were to pause and replenish their wardrobes on the way to England. The quality of Mrs.┬аBryтАЩs hospitality, and of the tips her husband had presumably imparted, lent to the manner of the English ladies a general effusiveness which shed the rosiest light over their hostessтАЩs future. In its glow Mrs.┬аDorset and the Stepneys were also visibly included, and the whole scene had touches of intimacy worth their weight in gold to the watchful pen of Mr.┬аDabham. + 

A glance at her watch caused the Duchess to exclaim to her sister that they had just time to dash for their train, and the flurry of this departure over, the Stepneys, who had their motor at the door, offered to convey the Dorsets and Miss Bart to the quay. The offer was accepted, and Mrs.┬аDorset moved away with her husband in attendance. Miss Bart had lingered for a last word with Lord Hubert, and Stepney, on whom Mr.┬аBry was pressing a final, and still more expensive, cigar, called out: тАЬCome on, Lily, if youтАЩre going back to the yacht.тАЭ + 

Lily turned to obey; but as she did so, Mrs.┬аDorset, who had paused on her way out, moved a few steps back toward the table. + 

тАЬMiss Bart is not going back to the yacht,тАЭ she said in a voice of singular distinctness. + 

A startled look ran from eye to eye; Mrs.┬аBry crimsoned to the verge of congestion, Mrs.┬аStepney slipped nervously behind her husband, and Selden, in the general turmoil of his sensations, was mainly conscious of a longing to grip Dabham by the collar and fling him out into the street. + 

Dorset, meanwhile, had stepped back to his wifeтАЩs side. His face was white, and he looked about him with cowed angry eyes. тАЬBertha!тБатАФMiss BartтБатАКтБатАж this is some misunderstandingтБатАКтБатАж some mistakeтБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬMiss Bart remains here,тАЭ his wife rejoined incisively. тАЬAnd, I think, George, we had better not detain Mrs.┬аStepney any longer.тАЭ + 

Miss Bart, during this brief exchange of words, remained in admirable erectness, slightly isolated from the embarrassed group about her. She had paled a little under the shock of the insult, but the discomposure of the surrounding faces was not reflected in her own. The faint disdain of her smile seemed to lift her high above her antagonistтАЩs reach, and it was not till she had given Mrs.┬аDorset the full measure of the distance between them that she turned and extended her hand to her hostess. + 

тАЬI am joining the Duchess tomorrow,тАЭ she explained, тАЬand it seemed easier for me to remain on shore for the night.тАЭ + 

She held firmly to Mrs.┬аBryтАЩs wavering eye while she gave this explanation, but when it was over Selden saw her send a tentative glance from one to another of the womenтАЩs faces. She read their incredulity in their averted looks, and in the mute wretchedness of the men behind them, and for a miserable half-second he thought she quivered on the brink of failure. Then, turning to him with an easy gesture, and the pale bravery of her recovered smileтБатАФтАЬDear Mr.┬аSelden,тАЭ she said, тАЬyou promised to see me to my cab.тАЭ + 

Outside, the sky was gusty and overcast, and as Lily and Selden moved toward the deserted gardens below the restaurant, spurts of warm rain blew fitfully against their faces. The fiction of the cab had been tacitly abandoned; they walked on in silence, her hand on his arm, till the deeper shade of the gardens received them, and pausing beside a bench, he said: тАЬSit down a moment.тАЭ + 

She dropped to the seat without answering, but the electric lamp at the bend of the path shed a gleam on the struggling misery of her face. Selden sat down beside her, waiting for her to speak, fearful lest any word he chose should touch too roughly on her wound, and kept also from free utterance by the wretched doubt which had slowly renewed itself within him. What had brought her to this pass? What weakness had placed her so abominably at her enemyтАЩs mercy? And why should Bertha Dorset have turned into an enemy at the very moment when she so obviously needed the support of her sex? Even while his nerves raged at the subjection of husbands to their wives, and at the cruelty of women to their kind, reason obstinately harped on the proverbial relation between smoke and fire. The memory of Mrs.┬аFisherтАЩs hints, and the corroboration of his own impressions, while they deepened his pity also increased his constraint, since, whichever way he sought a free outlet for sympathy, it was blocked by the fear of committing a blunder. + 

Suddenly it struck him that his silence must seem almost as accusatory as that of the men he had despised for turning from her; but before he could find the fitting word she had cut him short with a question. + 

тАЬDo you know of a quiet hotel? I can send for my maid in the morning.тАЭ + 

тАЬAn hotelтБатАФhereтБатАФthat you can go to alone? ItтАЩs not possible.тАЭ + 

She met this with a pale gleam of her old playfulness. тАЬWhat is, then? ItтАЩs too wet to sleep in the gardens.тАЭ + 

тАЬBut there must be someoneтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬSomeone to whom I can go? Of courseтБатАФany numberтБатАФbut at this hour? You see my change of plan was rather suddenтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬGood GodтБатАФif youтАЩd listened to me!тАЭ he cried, venting his helplessness in a burst of anger. + 

She still held him off with the gentle mockery of her smile. тАЬBut havenтАЩt I?тАЭ she rejoined. тАЬYou advised me to leave the yacht, and IтАЩm leaving it.тАЭ + 

He saw then, with a pang of self-reproach, that she meant neither to explain nor to defend herself; that by his miserable silence he had forfeited all chance of helping her, and that the decisive hour was past. + 

She had risen, and stood before him in a kind of clouded majesty, like some deposed princess moving tranquilly to exile. + 

тАЬLily!тАЭ he exclaimed, with a note of despairing appeal; butтБатАФтАЬOh, not now,тАЭ she gently admonished him; and then, in all the sweetness of her recovered composure: тАЬSince I must find shelter somewhere, and since youтАЩre so kindly here to help meтБатАФтАЭ + 

He gathered himself up at the challenge. тАЬYou will do as I tell you? ThereтАЩs but one thing, then; you must go straight to your cousins, the Stepneys.тАЭ + 

тАЬOhтБатАФтАЭ broke from her with a movement of instinctive resistance; but he insisted: тАЬComeтБатАФitтАЩs late, and you must appear to have gone there directly.тАЭ + 

He had drawn her hand into his arm, but she held him back with a last gesture of protest. тАЬI canтАЩtтБатАФI canтАЩtтБатАФnot thatтБатАФyou donтАЩt know Gwen: you mustnтАЩt ask me!тАЭ + 

тАЬI must ask youтБатАФyou must obey me,тАЭ he persisted, though infected at heart by her own fear. + 

Her voice sank to a whisper: тАЬAnd if she refuses?тАЭтБатАФbut, тАЬOh, trust meтБатАФtrust me!тАЭ he could only insist in return; and yielding to his touch, she let him lead her back in silence to the edge of the square. + 

In the cab they continued to remain silent through the brief drive which carried them to the illuminated portals of the StepneysтАЩ hotel. Here he left her outside, in the darkness of the raised hood, while his name was sent up to Stepney, and he paced the showy hall, awaiting the latterтАЩs descent. Ten minutes later the two men passed out together between the gold-laced custodians of the threshold; but in the vestibule Stepney drew up with a last flare of reluctance. + 

тАЬItтАЩs understood, then?тАЭ he stipulated nervously, with his hand on SeldenтАЩs arm. тАЬShe leaves tomorrow by the early trainтБатАФand my wifeтАЩs asleep, and canтАЩt be disturbed.тАЭ + 