Feeling that I must end in speaking to Michael, it struck me that this would be the one safe way of consulting him in private. Iaccepted her advice, and had another approving pat on the cheek from her plump white fingers. They no longer struck cold on my skin; the customary vital warmth had returned to them. Her ladyship's mind had recovered its tranquillity.
IX.
I LEFT the house for my morning ride.