Read "The Three Hostages" by John Buchan online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
I lunched that day with Mary -- alone, for her aunts were both in Paris -- and it would have been hard to find in the confines of the British islands a more dejected pair. Mary, who had always a singular placid gentleness, showed her discomposure only by her pallor. As for me I was as restless as a bantam.
"I wish I had never touched the thing," I cried. "I have done more harm than good."