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Des—was a forure All the same, Mr Atkins was desperate If he was obsessed, he was entitled to be, when his entire future was at stake, when ruin and desolation stared grinning into his face
“Are you quite sure, Mr Desot it? No suspicions?”
“If I had suspicions,” the Devil answered, “I would act upon them, don’t you think? If I suspected, for instance, that you would not accept the word of a gentleht be a little affronted?” He went on, still s in his voice that reen eyes, “Yet as you see, I aht to my honour You are only concerned I , like physical enfeeblee”
As he spoke, Mr Des towards the door
“I appreciate your concern,” the Devil added, as Mr Atkins collided with the door handle, “but I do hate to be fussed over, you know Ungrateful creature that I am, it makes me irritable I had ”
Mr Atkins’s courage—no reliable quality in hiure closed in on him
“In—indeed, sir, I understand per—perfectly,” he sta, I’rasped the door handle, wrenched the door open, and stue potted palrab for it, dropping his hat in the process The tree swayed back into place, its fronds quivering Tre likewise, Mr Atkins turned to retrieve his hat and found Mr Langdon standing in the way, frowning at him
Mr Langdon’s froas attributable to the fact that his life had becoht Miss Desh, Mr Langdon had seen the light Or perhaps the darkness was loom upon every facet of his existence
It was Tony she sighed for, Tony she longed for, which ought to be perfectly agreeable, since Tony was sighing and longing for her and they ell matched in every way, from their physical beauty to their restless, passionate natures Yet try as hethis pair formed by nature for each other He found so little joy in it that he wished he were dead
Still, whatever he felt, he knew he had no business behaving so rudely to Mr Atkins Though he would like to knock the fellon for continuing to plague the fauardian of the Desmonds’ peace
Accordingly, he schooled his features into a thin semblance of politeness and—perhaps to make up for this poor show, retrieved the publisher’s hat and returned it to hi
“Th-thank you, sir Kind of you, I’ the hat round and round in his hands “So cluhtened look at the sturdy door, then, with a stammered “Good day,” scurried away
Mr Langdon scarcely heard the farewell, being preoccupied once more with the roomed a City-bred fellow should have such ill-cared-for hands Mr Atkins’s fingernails had been ragged and griits themselves red and blistered This was odd in aabout of pieces of paper and the consumption of vast quantities of ink
The butler appeared, breaking in upon Mr Langdon’s reflections
“Her ladyship has just coarden,” said Bantwell “She says that if you will be so kind as to excuse her appearance, she will be pleased toroom”
Mr Langdon was duly led in and announced in unsteady tones by the red-eyed, but otherwise pale, butler
Lady Potterby looked rather peevish and ill as well, an appearance she explained was the result of unwelcoardener “He insists we are overrun with ”
“Moles?” Jack echoed blankly
She nodded “Jenkins tells me there are holes everywhere He’s beside himself The lavender half uprooted and the lilies a shambles and I don’t knohat else At least the worst of the dadon’s eyes widened “Well, it is most tiresome, and I shall spare you the details”
Mr Langdon, upon whom an awful suspicion had just dawned, hurriedly dispatched his errand by returning Lady Potterby’s fan to her He then asked after Miss Desmond
Upon learning the young lady was sufficiently recovered fro, he expressed his satisfaction and made a hasty departure
He had just broken into a run, preparatory to astables for his horse, when, turning the corner of the hedge, he narrowlywith Mr Desmond
“All this dashing about in the height of su people have not succumbed to heat prostration,” said the Devil “Well, you are young”
Mr Langdon rather incoherently concurred with this observation