He longed to ask her but was far too proud, and their terms had grown so distant he hardly liked to express even solicitude, which, however, he did.
"I hope you have not had any bad news ?" Then she turned her eyes upon him, and he saw that she had hardly heard him; they looked blank.
"What ?" she asked vaguely; and then, recollecting herself confusedly, she went on, "No--not exactly--but something about which I must think." So he was shut out of her confidence.

He felt that, and carefully avoided taking any further notice of her.
When they got to the station he suddenly perceived she was not following him as he made way for her in the crowd, but had gone over to the telegraph office by herself.
He waited and fumed.

It was evidently something about which she wished no one to see what she wrote, for she could perfectly well have given the telegram to Higgins to take, who would be waiting by the saloon door.
She returned in a few moments, and she saw that Tristram's face was very stern.

It did not strike her that he was jealous about the mystery of the telegram; she thought he was annoyed at her for not coming on in case they should be late, so she said hurriedly, "There is plenty of time." "Naturally," he answered stiffly as they walked along, "but it is quite unnecessary for Lady Tancred to struggle through this rabble and take telegrams herself.

Higgins could have done it when we were settled in the train." And with unexpected meekness all she said was, "I am very sorry." So the incident ended there--but not the uneasy impression it left.
Tristram did not even make a pretense of reading the papers when the train moved on; he sat there staring in front of him, with his handsome face shadowed by a moody frown.