l manner, and he had thanked her in a few short words and
stood looking--looking.--He was not radiant, he was not aglow; the
subtle appeal of suffering had never been more strong: in spite of
everything the strange, sweet certainty of inner sympathy and
understanding once more flooded her being. They spoke only a few words,
and parted, and since that day Cassandra had seen Dane only in the
distance. Bernard reported him as a devoted lover, always in
attendance. He shrugged his shoulders with an easy tolerance. It was a
stage. It would pass!

Fortune favoured Cassandra, inasmuch as the bulb party fell on the day
following that on which Mary Mallison had received the notice of her
inheritance, and therefore the engagement took a second place in
importance. Major Mallison excused himself from the luncheon party on
the score of sciatica, which being interpreted meant a sore heart. Mary
was his favourite daughter, and the discovery of her long revolt had
wounded him sorely. His wife also had had her hour of bitterness, but
it was temperamentally impossible for Mrs Mallison to keep up an
estrangement with any creature, male or female, who was on the wave of
prosperity. Mary, the dependent and helpless, would have been hard to
forgive; Mary the heiress commanded respect, and could be excused a
weakness. In the abundance of her satisfaction in escorting two
successful daughters to luncheon at the Court, the last spark of
resentment disappeared, and Mary's determination to exploit the world on
her own became a proof of spirit to be retailed with maternal pride.

The Squire laughed and rallied Mary with the superficial good-nature
which he always exhibited to strangers, and Cassandra looked at her
across the table with grave, wistful eyes. Poor Mary Mallison with the
starved, bloodless face, and the starved, bloodless mind,--could all the
money in the world bring back her wasted youth? Could all the money in
the world unlock the gate of joy? Cassandra felt a sudden rush of
thankfulness for her own lot. Thank God, she had lived; she had
experienced; she had suffered. If the best had been denied, she had
been spared the worst,--the lot of a superfluous, unwanted woman!

After lunch the three guests were taken into the garden for a personally
conducted tour before the general influx began. The Squire naturally
selected Teresa as his companion, but by a little manoeuvring his wife
contrived that he should be saddled