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 Elisabeth shook her head.

"No, sir, thank you. I am much obliged to you, but you can't."

"You have had trouble, Elisabeth, you told me that, I think?"

"Yes, sir. But—it's no use, sir, I can't talk about it. It was more than trouble, and sometimes—"

She seemed to be about to say more, but suddenly stopped and hurried from the room. Hepworth looked after her with curiosity, not unmixed with pity. He wished that he had not spoken to her—it was evident that whatever trouble she had was still keen and poignant. He had supposed that it referred to the death of her husband—that much she had told him—but her last words seemed to suggest something further in the nature of mystery.