She would have given immensely much to unburden herself to this wise and faithful counsellor; and confide to him the--to her--strangely moving fact of Darcy Faircloth's existence.

Yet, notwithstanding her conviction of Colonel Carteret's absolute loyalty, she hesitated; restrained in part by modesty, in part by the fear of being treacherous.

Would it be altogether honourable to give away the secret places of Charles Verity's life--of any man's life if it came to that--even to so honourable and trusted a friend?
She felt handicapped by her own ignorance moreover, having neither standards nor precedents for guidance.

She had no idea--how should she ?--in what way most men regard such affairs, how far they accept and condone, how far condemn them.

She could not tell whether she was dealing with a case original and extraordinary, or one of pretty frequent occurrence in the experience of those who, as the phrase has it, know their world.