"You don't know what you said just now.

You didn't mean it.

It has always been Fisher--always, from the very beginning." She did not contradict him.

She did not even answer him.

She was sobbing as in passionate despair.
And it was that moment which Fisher chose for poking his head into the smoking-room in search of Charlie, whom he expected to find dozing over the fire, ignorant of the fact that it was close upon dinner-time.
Charlie leapt round at the opening of the door, but Fisher had taken stock of the situation.