florid colouring, smiled
a broad smile of welcome.

"Hulloa, Mary! Thought it was you. I was just passing along. Good
afternoon, Miss Gifford. It _is_ Miss Gifford, isn't it? Had a good
concert, I hope--a pleasant afternoon?"

"Very good, thank you," said Claire shortly.

Mary cried, "Oh, Frank! _You_! How did you come? I didn't expect--"
And the tone of her voice showed that the surprise was hardly more
agreeable to her than to her companion. However welcome her lover might
be on other occasions, it was obvious that she had not wished to see him
at this particular moment.

"Well, well, we must move on; we mustn't block up the pavement," the
Major said hastily. He took his place by the kerb, which placed him
next to Claire, and bent over with an assiduous air. "You must let me
escort you! Where were you bound for next?"

Claire hesitated. She wished with all her heart that she had not
mentioned Fuller's, so that she could reply that they were bound for the
Tube. Oxford Circus was only a step away; in five minutes they could
have been seated in the train; but Cecil had declared that she was
longing for tea, so it would be ungracious to withdraw the invitation.

"We were going to Fuller's."

"Right!" The Major's tone was complacent. "Good idea! How shall we
go? Taxi? Tube? Which do you prefer?"

Claire stared at him in surprise.

"But it's here! Quite close. We're nearly there."

He looked disconcerted, unnecessarily disconcerted, Claire thought; for
it was surely no disgrace for a man to be ignorant of the locality of a
confectioner's shop! From the other side came Cecil's voice, cool and
constrained--

"If you were going anywhere, Frank, you needn't stay with us. We can
look after each other. We are accustomed to going about alone."

"Please allow me the pleasure. There's plenty of time. I should enjoy
some tea immensely. Always take it when I get the chance!"

The block on the pavement made consecutive conversation impossible, and
the three edged their way in and out in silence until Fuller's was
reached, and one of the last tables secured. The room looked very
bright and dainty, the Christmas garlands still festooning the walls and
framing the mirrors, the hanging lights covered by rose-coloured shades.
The soft pink light was very kind to the complexions of the visitors,
nevertheless Claire felt a guilty pang as she looked into the nearest
mirror and beheld the reflection