professional success would be solid and substantial. Evelyn's father had
championed his cause, and in the end she had married him.

In the five years that had elapsed since then, her romance had taken its
place with the accepted things of life, and she revenged herself on
Langham, for what she had come to consider his unreasonable exactions,
by her recklessness, by her thirst for pleasure, and above all by her
extravagance.

Through all the vicissitudes of her married life, the smallest part of
which he only guessed, North had seen much of Evelyn. There was a daring
dangerous recklessness in her mood that he had sensed and understood and
to which he had made quick response. He knew that she was none too happy
with Langham, and although he had been conscious of no wish to wrong the
husband he had never paused to consider the outcome of his intimacy with
the wife.

Evelyn was the first to break the silence.

"You wonder why I came here, don't you, Jack?" she said.

"You should never have done it!" he replied quickly.

"What about my letters, why didn't you answer them?" she demanded. "I
hadn't one word from you in weeks. It quite spoiled my trip East. What
was I to think? And then you sent me just a line saying you were leaving
Mount Hope--" she drew in her breath sharply. There was a brief silence.
"Why?" she asked at length.

"It is better that I should," he answered awkwardly.