Helena

ing herself down on the grass beside Mrs. Friend. "And how are you? H

ays she had been in bed with a high temperature, she had been seriously missed in the daily life of the place, and the whole household had actively combined to get her well again. Mrs. Mawson had fed her; and Lucy Friend was aghast to think how much her convalescence must be costing her employer in milk, eggs, butter, cream and chickens, when all such foods were still so frightf

of Mrs. Mawson in the house, of old Fenn in the garden, even of Buntingford himself, who was gradually falling into the habit of letting her copy important letters for him,

eath, there had been a big streak of loneliness in Helena's heart, though she would have suffered tortures rather than confess it; and litt

said Mrs. Friend, softly smoothing back

n and appl

ugh already she had a visi

cious," she said

m I good

tfully, half defiantly,

riend

uestion before

't see anybody but Cousin Philip before I

ing silence for a minut

e a portrait of you

t one in the house! Lucy, you

to see one

ight dawne

en showing it to everybody a

e-you

ace compos

d. She was a horrid minx. That no doub

Helena rose from the grass, pausing t

the drawing-room, Mawson

t it lo

he added slowly-"this is the thi

the t

-the tone was decided, almost impati

nd opened

liked to dance

. I didn't mean to turn the h

s have been so large. And besid

elena. "But-we won't have a

ants are rather tired, and if they giv

ad been simply miraculous. For they rarely contained friends of his own; his lameness cut him off from dancing; and it had been clear to Lucy Friend that in many cases Helena's friends had be

ildren, and defending her whenever he heard her attacked. On the other hand, his will had been iron in the matter of Lord Donald, whose exposure as co-respondent in the particularly disreputable case had been lately filling the newspapers. Mrs. Fri

about other than quarrelling with "Cousin Philip." Her curiosity as to how the two wounded police, whom she had driven to the County Hospital that day, might be faring

par with Lord Buntingford, or other people. But all the same Lucy Friend was often aware of a much more tractable temper

oned the detached and half-sarcastic attitude which he had originally assumed towards Helena, and it seemed to Lucy Friend that he was taking his function towards her with a new seriousness. If so, it had affected himself at least as much as the proud and difficult girl whose guidance had been so hurriedly thrust upon him. His new role had brought out in him unexpecte

She had some aptitude, and more ambition-would indeed, but for the war, have been a South Kensington student, and had long cherish

specially on their long rides together-with a frankness, and a tone of gay and equal comradeship, which, or so Mrs. Friend imagined, had had a disarming and rather bewildering effect on Helena. The girl indeed seemed often surprised and excited. It was evident that they had never got on during her mother's lifetime, a

le susceptibility. It suggested something quite different. Julian Horne, who had taken a great fancy to Helena's chaperon, was now recommending books to her instead of to Helena, who always forgot or disobeyed his instructions. With a little preliminary lecture, he had put the "Greville Memoirs" in her hands by way of improving her mind; and she had been struck by a passage in which Greville describes Lord Melbourne's training of the young Queen Victoria, whose Prime

stinguished sailors with the halo of Zeebrugge about them. The gathering was to last nearly a week. Mrs. Mawson had engaged two extra servants, and the master of the house had resigned himself. But he had laid it down that the fare was to be simple-and "no champagne." And though of course the

was dancing night after night; money was being spent like water; and yet every man and woman of sense knew that the only hope for Britain lay in work and saving. Buntingford's habitual frown-

awn. Lucy Friend was gl

s a great favo

!" she said, a

is hateful, and I was in a hurry

her dress. She h

e said with the half-mischievous smile which in Lucy

Philip have t

stressed. "I've always admired her so!

rey l

little closer to the small person, who was becoming everybody's confidante. "

ut I can'

as quite made up her m

iend he

n't k

t do you

nder his compulsion, and slow

drew a lo

! The poor little fellow is going

t there anything we can

away. After all he's o

voice, Mrs. Friend turned to look at h

t Peter's not the boy he was-before

urmured Lucy. "I'm sure sh

arrelling with us all, it was just fun. But if Helena grows as delicious-as she promised to be last week-" He shrugged his shoulders, with a deep breath-"Well,-

ers into it, astonished to realize

ust go and change befor

, and she was left to

last advance of the war, and a couple of cadets who had not been old enough to fight at all; girls who had been "out" before the war, and two others, Helena's juniors, who were just leaving the school-room and seemed to be all aglow with the excitement and wonder of this peace-world; a formidable grey-haired woman, who was Lady Ma

ceful enough to turn even the seasoned head of a warrior to a grey-haired general describing the taking of the Vimy Ridge; and finally, Helena, holding a dancing class under the cedars on the yellow smoothness of the lawn, after tea, for such young men as panted to conquer the mysterie

Buntingford's ear, as the dressing-bell rang, and he was escorting her to the house. "An

gford

I'm not particularly

people propose to her-but i

lls me of her proposals?" s

se! Isn't that the specia

lena has never given me th

th her, but they don't propose to

ve the last word, as he asked Mr

down with him. The evening was fast declining; and from the shadow of the deep wood which bordered the western edge of the pond he looked out on the sunset glow as it climbed the eastern hill, transfiguring the ridge, and leaving a rich twilight in the valley below. The tranquillity of the water, the silence of the wood

her as a raw self-willed child-a "flapper" whose extraordinary beauty gave her a distinction she had done nothing to earn. But every moment in that Dansworth day was clear in memory:-the grave young face behind the steering-wheel, the perfect lips compressed, the eyes intent upon their task, the girl's courage and self-command. Still more the patient

inding it out; what else was there in it? But the jealous pang roused by the thought of Buntingford, once felt, persisted. Not for a moment did French doubt the honour or the integrity of a man, who had done him personally many a kindness, and had moreover given him some reason to think--(he recalled the odd little not

son for the conviction-that Buntingford would never have undertaken the guardianship of Helena, had the merest possibility of marrying her crossed his mind. French did not believe that it had ever yet crossed his mind. Ther

force a girl like Helena to respect him intellectually; with such a nature that was half the battle. He would be her master in time. Besides, there were all Philip's endless opportunities of making life agreeable and delightful to her. When they went to London, for instance, he would come out of

h? He was confident that Helena had in her the capacity for passion; that the flowering-time of such a nature would be one of n

edged. Why not cut in at once? "She likes me-she has been a perfect dear to me these last few times of meeting! Philip backs me. He would take my part. Perhaps

s striking across the water. Geoffrey watched it wandering over the dark wood on his right, lighting up the tall stems of the beeches, and sending a tricky gleam or two among the tangled underwood. It seemed to him a symbol of the sudden illumination of mind and purpose which had come to him, there, on the shadowed water-and he turned to look at a window which he knew was Helena's. There were lights within it, and he pictured Helen

produced it. And at the same moment the searchlight on the boathouse reached the spot to which his eyes were drawn, and he saw for an instant-sharply distinct and ghostly white-a woman's face and

some one who wanted to be put across

est, who had been out for a walk, and missed her way home in a strange park. "Do you want to get to the house? I can put yo

heard from a great distance a church clock striking. Th

ain. He began then to doubt his own eyes. Had it been a mere illusion produced by some caprice of the searchlight opp

have imagined

ack across the pond-to hear the band tuning in the fl