'And when will that be?' asked Lord Arthur eagerly. 'Will it be soon?'
'I hope not for a week. I had a very bad time yesterday morning with it. But one never knows.'
'You are sure to have one before the end of the month then, Lady Clem?'
'I am afraid so. But how sympathetic you are to-day, Arthur! Really, Sybil has done you a great deal of good. And now you must run away, for I am dining with some very dull people, who won't talk scandal, and I know that if I don't get my sleep now I shall never be able to keep awake during dinner. Good-bye, Arthur, give my love to Sybil, and thank you so much for the American medicine.'
'You won't forget to take it, Lady Clem, will you?' said Lord Arthur, rising from his seat.
'Of course I won't, you silly boy. I think it is most kind of you to think of me, and I shall write and tell you if I want any more.'
Lord Arthur left the house in high spirits, and with a feeling of immense relief.
That night he had an interview with Sybil Merton. He told her how he had been suddenly placed in a position of terrible difficulty, from which neither honour nor duty would allow him to recede. He told her that the marriage must be put off for the present, as until he had got rid of his fearful entanglements, he was not a free man. He implored her to trust him, and not to have any doubts about the future. Everything would come right, but patience was necessary.
