"The question is," went on Mr. Teal, "how are we to break it off?"
Roland felt that, as he had sinned against all the decencies in
allowing the butler to discuss his affairs with him, he might just as
well go the whole hog and allow the discussion to run its course. And
it was an undeniable relief to talk about the infernal thing to some
one.
He nodded gloomily, and committed himself. Teal resumed his remarks
with the gusto of a fellow-conspirator.
"It's not an easy thing to do gracefully, sir, believe me, it isn't.
And it's got to be done gracefully, or not at all. You can't go to her
ladyship and say 'It's all off, and so am I,' and catch the next train
for London. The rupture must be of her ladyship's making. If some fact,
some disgraceful information concerning you were to come to her
ladyship's ears, that would be a simple way out of the difficulty."
He eyed Roland meditatively.
"If, for instance, you had ever been in jail, sir?"
"Well, I haven't."
"No offense intended, sir, I'm sure. I merely remembered that you had
made a great deal of money very quickly. My experience of gentlemen who
have made a great deal of money very quickly is that they have
generally done their bit of time.
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