She did this kind of thing a lot when they were alone together, and normally Micky enjoyed it. She would hold his hand and touch his thigh, and he would touch her arm or her shoulder, and look into her eyes, and they would talk in low voices, like lovers, without ever acknowledging that they were flirting. He found it exciting, and so did she. But today he was too desperately worried to dally with her. "How is old Seth?" he asked, hoping to hear of a sudden relapse.
She sensed his mood and let go of his hand without protest, although she looked disappointed. "Come close to the fire," she said. She sat on a sofa and patted the seat beside her. "Seth is much better."
Micky's heart sank.
She went on: "He may be with us for years yet." She could not keep the irritation out of her voice. She was impatient for her husband to take over. "You know he is living here now. You shall visit him when you have had some tea."
"He must retire soon, surely?" said Micky.
"There is no sign of it, regrettably. Just this morning he forbade another issue of Russian railway stock." She patted his knee. "Be patient. Your papa shall have his rifles eventually."
"He can't wait much longer," Micky said worriedly. "He has to leave next week."
"So that's why you're looking so tense," she said. "Poor boy. I wish I could do something to help.
"You don't know my father," Micky said, and he could not keep the note of despair out of his voice. "He pretends to be civilized when he sees you, but in reality he's a barbarian. God knows what he'll do to me if I let him down."
There were voices in the hall. "There's something I must tell you before the others come in," Augusta said hastily. "I finally met Mr. David Middleton."
Micky nodded. "What did he say?"
"He was polite, but frank. Said he did not believe that the entire truth about his brother's death had been told, and asked if I could put him in touch with either Hugh Pilaster or Antonio Silva. I told him they were both abroad, and he was wasting his time."
"I wish we could solve the problem of old Seth as neatly as we solved that one," Micky said as the door opened.
