Joan Thursday

consulted her bracelet-watch, shrugged recklessly, and lifted her parasol an inch or so to enable her to level an imperious stare at the point where the straight,

th disquietude in her manner; and there was no one in her present neighbourhood (except possibly her chauffeur) of whos

akish, low-lying locomotive with a long tail of coaches emerged from the woodland and, breathing forth vast volumes of smoke, fled a pursuing clo

e standards of summer negligence, swarmed out of the cars and ran hither and yon, heedlessly elbowing one another and gabbling voc

wing out of the rank and rattling and rumbling off through stifling drifts of dust; no more passengers were issuing from the coaches; and already the parlour-car porters were picking up their stools and preparing to swing back aboard the train. The conductor waved his final signal. The bell tolled its warning. Th

the startled expression and air of a Jack-in-the-box; dropped his suit-case over the rear rail; ran down the s

-car with a sheepish smile for his handsome young aunt, who

soon as he was near enoug

car and following it. "Kick along, Davy," he added, with a nod to t

ust-fog. Matthias turned twinkling eyes to his aunt.

nadequat

ou doing on that train, to come

in profound and exhaustive medita

one inferred as mu

voice. "Thinking!... While I had to wait t

ready to sink th

stonily. "You

would never have entered my head that y

ich the greater number of its predecessors had clattered, and found unclouded air on a well-metalled lane bordered with aged oaks and maples. Through a funnel-like dip between hills, Matthias, looking past

armingly aggrieved, "you think I ought to be gr

sincerely; "I know it wasn't right of me to

lp it!" she murm

te, yesterday afternoon, and-well, along about ten o'clock it got too stro

ow about your si

oth of us. That's why you ran off and married Tankerville against everybody's advice. Of course, it did turn out beautifully; but you didn't stop to wonder whether it would or not when you took it into your head to marry

" she deman

over. "I suppose I do," he admi

th her!" Helena de

true,

why do you object-hang fire-run away like a silly, frighte

position to get married ye

a position'?" she

er, the poor relation, whereas Venetia h

lms out expressively; folded them in

y approaching an equa

a fine air of innocence-"how mu

alive and I'm awfully proud and fond of you) surely you must understand that no decent fellow wants to go to the girl he's in love with

e you been wr

severa

any have y

te a

ch have you

o nothi

y do you

s the thing

't make any

before long. Mea

listen to reason an

isn't in me. Permit me to muddle along in my own, 'special, wrong-headed way, and the chances are I'll make good in

. Then: "But marriage needn't necessarily put an end to your playwritin

forgetting I'm not

tered smartly,

arbridge!" as

y, a very wise an

the ears of the operator. Now, however, they surmounted the highest point and began the more gradual descent to the Tankerville estate. And with less noise there was consequently very little talking on the part of the two on the

consider Marbridge's attentions seriously. Nobody ever took Marbridge s

tory. On either hand Tanglewood's long parked terraces fell away to the wat

but none the less a well-knit figure of a man, and tremendously alive; dark, with a broad, blunt, good-humoured face and seal-brown eyes that were exceedingly handsome and

him covertly, with a sly, semi-affectionate

sedately to a dead stop by the carriage-block. Matthias pulled himself toget

o curb her husband's desire for the most expensive and ostentatious place obtainable, had at least guided his choice of design. It was too magnificent, it was overpowering, but it was beautiful; and it was more than e

clung about the plac

eping Beauty," he said. "Why this

body down to Huntington for lunch. They got away quite early, i

gh a wide, cool,

idn't

st, I had one until the Enchantress got under way; and furth

went, o

d Marbridge-a

hich jutted airily out over the edge of a cliff, with

a wicker chair, motioned Matthia

Enchantress, O

t sweep of the view, then remembering, raked the waters until he discovered Tankerville's p

seated himself near his

im here anyway?" h

parried mis

admitted, sulking in the fa

us, Ja

you i

e yet betrayed!... I didn't ask him. Tankerville

ou lik

muses

recisely a

ere to worry about me. I'm fire-proof. Venetia's quite a

e go-Marbrid

t, I believe Tankerville

ou asked me, this

come to your senses and secure Venetia against all Marbridg

d to you in strict confidence that I was in love wi

nor I can control the girl; she's her own mistress and headstrong enough to be a good mat

with an eloq

eliberation, "I'd have lost my head before t

gently. "It's not t

he balustrade, jerked his ciga

ther," he said gloomily, "I'm conceite

re openly: "See wh

with a fine air of ina