There was no escaping the conviction that Muir was in a perilous
position, and that a little thing might push him over the brink.
Therefore, he had returned fully beat upon using all his influence in
behalf of Arnault, and was spurred to this effort by the fact that his
finances, but not his expenses, were running low. His wife could give
but a dubious account of Stella's conduct.
"In short," said Mr. Wildmere, irritably, "she is dallying with both,
and may lose both by her hesitating folly."
His daughter's greeting was brief and formal. A sort of
matter-of-course kiss had been given, and then he had been left to eat
his supper alone, since his wife could not just then be absent from
her child. At last he lounged out on the piazza, sat down before one
of the parlor windows, glanced at the gay scene within, and smoked in
silence. Before the German began, Graydon passed him several times,
regarding him curiously and with a growing sense of repulsion. He
disliked to think that the relation between this man and the girl he
would marry was so close.
Before the evening was over, Mr. Wildmere saw that his daughter was in
truth pursuing a difficult policy. The angry light in Arnault's eyes
and the grave expression on Graydon's face proved how fraught with
peril it was to his hopes.
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