on; he had forgotten himself and his past fortunes, Blent and
the rest of it; he had even forgotten the peculiarities of his own
family. He heard with most genuine vexation that a lady must see him on
urgent business; but he had not experience enough to embolden him to
send word that he was out.

Such a message would probably have availed nothing. Cecily was already
at the door; she was in the room before he had done giving directions
that she should be admitted. Again the likeness which had already worked
on him so powerfully struck him with unlessened force; for its sake he
sprang forward to greet her and met her outstretched hands with his.
There was no appearance of embarrassment about her, rather a great
gladness and a triumph in her own courage in coming. She seemed quite
sure that she had done the right thing.

"You didn't come to me, so I came to you," she explained, as though the
explanation were quite sufficient.

She brought everything back to him very strongly--and in a moment
banished Blinkhampton.

"Does anybody know you've come?"

"No," she smiled. That was a part of the fun. "Mina didn't know I was
going out. You see everybody's been doing something except me and----"

"Everybody doing something? Doing what?"

"Oh, never mind now. Nothing of any real use."

"There's nothing to do," said Harry with a smile and a shrug.

She was a little disappointed to find him looking so well, so cheerful,
so busy. But the new impression was not strong enough to upset the
preconceptions with which she had come. "I've come to tell you I can't
bear it," she said. "Oh, why did you ever do it, Harry?"

"On my honor I don't know," he admitted after a moment's thought. "Won't
you sit down?" He watched her seat herself, actually hoping for the
famous attitude. But she was too excited for it. She sat upright, her
hands clasped on her knees. Her air was one of gravity, of tremulous
importance. She realized what she was going to do; if she had failed to
understand its very unusual character she would probably never have done
it at all.

"I can't bear this state of things," she began. "I can't endure it any
longer."

"Oh, I can, I'm all right. I hope you haven't been worrying?"

"Worrying! I've robbed you, robbed you of everything. Oh, I know you did
it yourself! That makes it worse. How did I come to make you do it?"

"I don't know," he said again. "Well, you seemed so in your place at
Blent. Somehow you made me f