She saw his eyes fall before her steady gaze, and she pitied him while she admired his uncompromising pride.
"Indeed!" he said.

"I have reason to believe," he added, turning to the window again, "that there is a great future before that country; all the intellect of Great Britain seems to be converging in its direction." Since his departure Jack's name had never been mentioned, even between these two whose friendship dated back a generation.

Once or twice Sir John had made a subtle passing reference to him, such as perhaps no other woman but Lady Cantourne could have understood; but Africa was, so to speak, blotted out of Sir John Meredith's map of the world.

It was there that he kept his skeleton--the son who had been his greatest pride and his deepest humiliation--his highest hope in life--almost the only failure of his career.
He stood there by the window, looking out with that well-bred interest in details of sport and pastime which was part of his creed.

He braved it out even before the woman who had been a better friend to him than his dead wife.