What had passed between him and her husband during that interview in the parlour?
She longed to know.
But whatever it had been, Hugh had emerged victorious.

He had destroyed those foul suspicions of Jeff's.

He had conquered the man's enmity, overthrown his passionate jealousy, humbled him into admitting himself to be in the wrong.

Very curiously that silent admission of Jeff's hurt her pride almost as if it had been made on her behalf.

The thought of Jeff worsted by Hugh Chesyl, however deeply in the wrong he might be, was somehow very hard to bear.