The name of Drake made him pause.

Miss Le Mesurier knew everything there was to be known about Mallinson, but there were certain facts in Drake's history of which she was ignorant.

The question sprang into his mind, 'Could Mallinson have a fair chance unless she was made acquainted with those facts ?' Fielding knew Members of Parliament who had been returned over the heads of residents in the constituency because they entered it too late for the electors to become intimate with their defects.

Drake's career might provide an analogy unless Clarice was told.

He argued to convince himself that he felt she ought to be told, but he could not bring himself to the point of telling.