The Lady in Blue by Fred M. White

Clutton had hardly expected to find that the first shot in the campaign had gone home so disastrously. It was a most unpleasant position certainly, yet there was nothing tragic about it, though Blanche Trevenner seemed to hold a contrary opinion. From the way in which she looked at her companion, and the whiteness of her face, she might have been the victim of some great moral or social catastrophe. But yet these things happened every day, even in the West End of Bohemia. Clutton's air was sympathetic.

"After all, there's nothing to be afraid of," he said.