You shouldn't have troubled to play if you didn't feel inclined." Nan threw him a glance of gratitude--Peter never seemed to fail her either in big or little things.

Then, having settled accounts with her opponents, she moved away to join the chattering knot of departing guests congregated round the doorway.
Mallory's eyes followed her thoughtfully.

He had already surmised that Maryon Rooke was the sender of the telegram, and he could see how unmistakably his sudden reappearance had shaken her.

He felt baffled.
Did the man still hold her?
Was all the striving of the last few months to prove useless?
Those long hours of self-effacement when he had tried by every means in his power to restore Nan to a normal interest in life, to be the good comrade she needed at no matter what cost to himself, demanding nothing in return! For it had been a hard struggle to be constantly with the woman he loved and yet keep himself in hand.

To Mallory, Rooke's return seemed grotesquely inopportune.
He was roused from his thoughts to the realisation that people were leaving.