And he remembered how she stopped and looked round, how her face changed back to that which he did know, and what an icy shiver had gone through him, for all that the next moment he was fondling her shoulders. Yes, she had made him suffer! Divorce! It seemed ridiculous, after all these years of utter separation! But it would have to be. No other way! “The question,” he thought with sudden realism, “is⁠—which of us? She or me? She deserted me. She ought to pay for it. There’ll be someone, I suppose.” Involuntarily he uttered a little snarling sound, and, turning, made his way back to Park Lane.

James Sees Visions

The butler himself opened the door, and closing it softly, detained Soames on the inner mat.

“The master’s poorly, sir,” he murmured. “He wouldn’t go to bed till you came in. He’s still in the dining-room.”

Soames responded in the hushed tone to which the house was now accustomed.