[As he stands there the extraordinary resemblance between him and
VELASQUEZ' portrait of PHILIP IV. of Spain comes home to her with such
force that she is about to qualify her half-stated implication, when
_Angela Thynne_ drops her fan into the fireplace. She has moved to the
seat that _Lady Gastwyck_ had vacated. She is leaning forward with lips
parted, and her limpid blue eyes gazing at the dead embers. _Lady
Gastwyck_ recoils as though struck by a whip. She moves to the
Chesterfield and leans against it, biting her nails. _Lord Gumthorpe_
moves deeper into the recess, struggling with the emotions which the
astounding act of _Angela_ has produced. As he sits there, the
moonlight, pouring through the diamond panes of the window, throws
rhomboids of light on to the polished floor. It looks like some
enchanted chessboard. Leaning back and gazing with half-closed eyes, he
peoples it with fantastic rooks, and knights and bishops, when suddenly
the strangely penetrating voice of _Angela_ breaks the silence.