The Limit

w of her sulky-looking house in Curzon Street one br

e I'll never forgive her. She's a silly fool, but at

dy, with greyish red hair, a straight decided mouth, and several firm chins. Her most marked characteristic was her intense decision on tr

en. If she had some of the Victorian severities of the sixties, she had also many of the sentimental vagaries of the eighties. The serious business of her life was gossip. In her lighter

dressed in heliotrope-and sat down rather seriou

emely good of you to come

a, but Millie was the name which she h

days is, I know, quite hopeless if one has anything to say. To call on any one

Will you ha

. She did not care for Millie's made conve

rine tablet which I bring with me. I am not a faddist, and I think all those sort of fancies about what is and what is not good f

ill more sensibly and

whether you will come to the point at once? It would be a great comfort if you would. I have been feeling quite anxious about yo

e it made as I do. Two teaspoonfuls of coffee in a large breakfast-cup f

lie dear, about my daughter-in-law

ea. Miss Westbury frowned, and os

ters and the very new ones-these post-men, or whatever they're called-seem to me perfect nonsense. A daub and a splash-no real trouble taken-and then you're expected to rave about it. There's one man-some one wants me to buy a picture of his-he paints all his pictures in tiny squares of different colours; when you're c

ng, or the cows?"

r have anything to do with nonsense. Well now, my dear--" Taking pity on Mrs. Wyburn's extreme impatience, Miss Westbury came a little nearer. "What I heard was simply this. My cousin, Jane Totness, took her little boy, who is in London for the holidays, to the British Museum. She always likes to improve his mind as much as possible; besides, he had been promised a treat after having a tooth ou

g her foot on the floor, and trying to restrain herself. "And so she too

It's the rule in the Totness family; the second son is always called after the grandfather, the eldest son after his father, an

first a sympathetic smile,

. We

boy, and I dare say he was enjoying it very much-when, to her great surprise, who should s

ho

rry de Freyne-her

Mrs. Wyburn. "Did they seem unc

ed and nodded, and Valentia kissed her hand to Laurence. Of course, Jane was very much pained and shocked about it all.

oung man-I disapprove of him as strongly as any one can-but he's an artist, and she

gs, but, as Jane said, who on earth would go to the British Museum, unle

to her alone, I don't see w

would have done. But it was quite clear that there was something clandestine about it,

t would you advise me to do? Shall I speak

er she will get round you, and say that Romer knew all about it. My advice is, if you really want to put a stop to this flirtation-I'm sure it's goss

ne? Yes, it's rat

ury, who evidently had nothing more to impart. But that lady was not so easy to dispose of. She broke into a long monologue on the subject

olent toothache or some other ill, when Miss

to the Blue Book, looked up Harry's add

Mr. de

omething I want to say to you which I hardly like to write. I should be glad if you would come and see me to-morrow afternoon at four o'clock. I

rs t

lla Wy

g uncomfortable, as he was very certain to feel when he got the letter. Although she had a great suspicion and general dislike of

d her invitation with most respectful alacrity. His manners-especially on paper-we

ia, or somehow convey to her about the letter, b

old lady left him alone for a few minutes in the dark, dism

troking the china bird, and lookin

race that she felt almost disconcert

letter?" she said

asure. That is

tanding, smili

old graciousness. "I hope yo

bow, taking the seat she had indicated. He looked a

than she had expected. She spoke quietly, in

s reached my ears, Mr. de Freyne, which has caused me very great p

nothing against Romer? I'm sure I

tainly not! There's never been a word breathed otherwis

eared muc

r you say that. It's only wh

ment that if I had any fault to fin

that he was defeating her, laugh

inly rather stra

in a very different sense. What I'm afraid of is that dear Ro

that

itefully, yet with a

ard, or even out at elbows, or absurdly dandified, or looked nouveau riche, or something! She felt jealous of him for Romer, and, at the back of her brain, she grudgingly and perversely sympathised

Valentia, were seen alone--" she paused a momen

ent his head forward with ever

e with e

morning-at the

fallen flat. It was less effective than she had

of waiting for the climax. She ga

Miss Westbury,

red an old wives' tale any day to an o

alse report, you have merely to deny it. Assure me it is incorrect-on y

ot merely because it's absolutely true-for, as a matter of fact, I think most reports are-but because of

s are usually tru

oke-without-fire theory. Oh, do you know, I think it is

admit

could hardly refuse t

u were

could hardly refuse his request. I may be wrong, but I think one s

s on the duties and obligations of

ked me to go and

must see that your explana

mb Dogs and Cats. No? Well, every one is going, and they're arranging to have, by way of novelty, Quadrilles of different nationalities. Romer and his wife are to dance in the Egyptian Quadrille, and he asked me to take her to the British Museum to look r

eyne

ked you to go, there's nothing more to be said ... though I think it

l be frightfully harmless-in fact, very invigorating to the mind. It's not as though the dresses were becoming! We saw the most hide

o feel rather inclined to relent at the

g, Mr. de Freyne. The boy

ge idea-I mean, to think it could be a tr

her," she a

y all that was troubling you,

ns will understand when I say it was like a change from the common chord in the minor to the dominant i

nation it's, so far, all right. You'll

larly. Let me ring." After

about a little less with Valentia?... Of course, I quite see now that you're so devoted

at a disagreeable, insincere woman she is-not a bit fe

t every one she didn't like, and speaking with a kind of tender and admiring famili

o be always going out, which he promised to do. She even confided to him her great wish that they had two or three children, which would

fter having no earthly chance on any form they had shown that season. Mrs. Wyburn positively tried to talk racing with him for a minute or two-rat

not to tell Romer the reason of his visit. To Valentia he might

ng. But Mrs. Wyburn was afraid of her son's anger-which she could not endure, unless she was in the right-and of appearing ridiculously meddling. Harry owned that

d he not done so the story would at least have had the interest of novelty, for Romer ha

here was no reference whatever to quadrilles of various nationalities-Egyptian or otherwise; and she rather wondered at the omission. But it did not o

had reason to grow seriously anxious again on the same subject, she never could bring herself in her own min