The Man in the Dining Room

(From Lady Janet! What could Lady Janet want with him, at a time when
she was bent on composing herself in the retirement of her own room?) "I ought to have said two messages," Horace proceeded. "The first
was given to me on my way downstairs. Lady Janet wished to see me
immediately. I sent an excuse. A second message followed. Lady Janet
would accept no excuse. If I refused to go to her I should be merely
obliging her to come to me. It is impossible to risk being interrupted
in that way; my only alternative is to get the thing over as soon as
possible. Do you mind waiting?"

"Certainly not. Have you any idea of what Lady Janet wants with you?"

"No. Whatever it is, she shall not keep me long away from you. You will
be quite alone here; I have warned the servants not to show any one in."
With those words he left her.

Mercy's first sensation was a sensation of relief--soon lost in a
feeling of shame at the weakness which could welcome any temporary
relief in such a position as hers. The emotion thus roused merged,
in its turn, into a sense of impatient regret. "But for Lady Janet's
message," she thought to herself, "I might have known my fate by this
time!"

The slow minutes followed each other drearily. She paced to and fro in
the library, faster and faster, under the intolerable irritation, the
maddening uncertainty, of her own suspense. Ere long, even the spacious
room seemed to be too small for her. The sober monotony of the long
book-lined shelves oppressed and offended her. She threw open the door
which led into the dining-room, and dashed in, eager for a change of
objects, athirst for more space and more air.