You understand--any one." The man took the note.

He left the room and he had no doubt fulfilled his errand while the husband and wife stood there, face to face, neither of them breaking the formidable silence.

They felt that the hour was a solemn one.
Never, since the day on which Cardinal Manning had united their destinies in the chapel of Ardrahan Castle, had they been engaged in a crisis so tragical.

Such moments lay bare the very depths of the character.

Courageous and noble, Maud did not think of weighing her words.