"Sit down and recover yourself," he continued kindly; for she was drawing deep breaths as though she were on the verge of an hysterical attack.
Malcolm felt secretly frightened at the result of his experiment.

It was clear to him that the mere utterance of her married name almost maddened her--that for some occult reason it was not safe to use it.

Up to this moment she had played her cards well: she had guessed his errand and had evaded and kept him at bay--first by pretended ignorance, and next by refusing to discuss the engagement with him.
That he was Miss Templeton's mouthpiece and messenger mattered little or nothing to her.

No wonder Malcolm found himself nonplussed.

A moment later he heard his name called.