Page:HG Wells--secret places of the heart.djvu/276

264 lieved in him thoroughly. Sir Richmond was inspired by great modern creative ideas.

“Forgive me if I keep you talking about him,” said Lady Hardy. “I wish I could feel as sure that I had been of use to him.”

Dr. Martineau insisted. “I know very well that you are.”

“I do what I can to help him carry his enormous burthen of toil,” she said. “I try to smooth his path. But he is a strange silent creature at times.”

Her eyes scrutinized the doctor’s face.

It was not the doctor’s business to supplement Sir Richmond’s silences. Yet he wished to meet the requirements of this lady if he could. “He is one of those men,” he said, “who are driven by forces they do not fully understand. A man of genius.”

“Yes,” she said in an undertone of intimacy. “Genius.... A great irresponsible genius.... Difficult to help.... I wish I could do more for him.”

A very sweet and charming lady. It was with great regret that the doctor found the time had come to turn to his left-hand neighbour.

It was with some surprise that Dr. Martineau received a fresh appeal for aid from Sir Richmond. It was late in October and Sir Richmond