His eyes were fixed upon the face of the woman whose antagonism to himself was so apparent.

She stood in the path of a long gleam of morning sunlight.

The wrinkles in her face, her hard mouth, her cold, steely eyes were all clearly revealed.
"I am not at all sure," he said, with a purpose in the words, "that any further meeting between Lady Dominey and myself is at present desirable." If he had thought to disturb this messenger by his suggestion, he was disappointed.
"Her ladyship desires me to assure you," she added, with a note of contempt in her tone, "that you need be under no apprehension." Dominey admitted defeat and poured himself out some more coffee.

Neither of the two noticed that his fingers were trembling.
"Her ladyship is very considerate," he said.

"Kindly say that I shall follow you in a few minutes." Dominey, following within a very few minutes of his summons, was ushered into an apartment large and sombrely elegant, an apartment of faded white and gold walls, of chandeliers glittering with lustres, of Louise Quinze furniture, shabby but priceless.