They were exactly what he coveted in a wife--what he hoped he had captured in Elizabeth.

How was it they had been snatched from him?
He turned blindly on the obstacle that had risen in his path, and the secret he had not yet decided how to handle began to run away with him.
He bent forward, with a slightly heightened colour.
"Lady Merton--we might not have another opportunity--will you allow me a few frank words with you--the privilege of an old friend ?" Elizabeth turned her face to him, and a pair of startled eyes that tried not to waver.
"Of course, Mr.Arthur," she said smiling.

"Have I been doing anything dreadful ?" "May I ask what you personally know of this Mr.Anderson ?" He saw--or thought he saw--her brace herself under the sudden surprise of the name, and her momentary discomfiture pleased him.
"What I know of Mr.Anderson ?" she repeated wondering.

"Why, no more than we all know.

What do you mean, Mr.Arthur?
Ah, yes, I remember, you first met him in Winnipeg; _we_ made acquaintance with him the day before." "For the first time?
But you are now seeing a great deal of him.