herself whether the persistent sense of fear that haunted her was
that they both must betray self-consciousness in time, or that the
more difficult order would bore him: their earlier intimacy had
coincided with his hours of leisure. After all, he was not her lover,
to delight in intrigue; and in time, it might be, he would not think
the game worth the candle. She dreaded that revived gossip might
drive him from the hotel, and that would be the miserable beginning
of an unthinkable end.

There were other interruptions. He paid a flying visit to Richmond
to visit the death-bed of his mother, and he took a trip to the
Sandwich Islands to recover from a severe cold on the chest.
Moreover, his former placidity had left him, for one thing and
another delayed the financing of his newspaper. One of its founders
was temporarily embarrassed for ready money, another awaited an
opportune moment to realize on some valuable stock. There was no
doubt that the entire amount would be forthcoming in time, but
meanwhile he fumed, and expressed himself freely to Madeleine. That
he might have a more poisonous source of irritation did not occur to
her.

Fortunately she did not suspect that gossip was still rife.
Madeleine might have a subtle mind but she had a candid personality.
It was quite patent to sharp eyes that she was unhappy once more,
although this time her health was unaffected. And Society was quite
aware that she still saw Langdon Masters, in spite of her perfunctory
appearances; for suspicion once roused develops antennae that
traverse space without effort and return with accumulated minute
stores of evidence. Masters had been seen entering or leaving the
Talbot parlor by luncheon guests in the hotel. Old Ben Travers, who