watched the
first casual glance brighten into surprised admiration. It appeared to
him but another instance of Jean's surprising cleverness that she always
"hit upon such stunning clothes," and he pitied from his heart the poor
fellows who possessed dull, dowdy wives. Jean looked like a queen
beside them; but a queen is an expensive luxury in the home of a
struggling business man. The process of "selling out a share or two"
had been resorted to several times in the course of the last few years,
and Robert had begun to lie awake at nights, pondering uneasily about
the future. The lines in his forehead had deepened into furrows, but
his eyes were clear and bright as ever; he moved in the same quick,
alert fashion, and his laugh rang full and joyous as a boy's.

Piers Rendall's dark hair had turned grey--a curious dark shade of grey
which gave an effect of _poudre_. The change gave an added distinction
to his appearance, and showed the dark eyes and eyebrows in striking
contrast. He was thin, however, and the nervous twitching of the
features was more frequent than of old.

As for Vanna, what attractions she possessed had never been of the
golden-haired, pink-cheeked category, and there was consequently little
change visible at a casual glance. She was prettily dressed in a soft
blue gown, and the stag-like setting of the head, the arched black
brows, and the delicate oval of the face were untouched. Love and work
had filled her life, and her expression was both sweet and strong; but
there were new lines written on her face--lines whose secret no one knew
but herself.

All these years Vanna had been fighting a battle--a battle against self
and fate. When at the end of her hospital course _she_ had settled down
in her own house, Piers had been hotly indignant at discovering that the
same embargo as of old was to be laid against his visits. One night a
week! The thing was preposterous. He had given way to her wishes, had
been patient and self-sacrificing, more patient than ninety-nine men out
of a hundred would have been under the circumstances. He had waited,
marking off the months as they passed, counting on the future to reward
him for his abstinence, and now was she going to put him off again, to
forbid him the house, to treat him like a common acquaintance? He
stormed and argued, Vanna stood firm. They parted for the first time in
coldness and anger, but the next day Piers took back his words, and
beg