Oh and," he added, "I
forgot just for the moment! There is a wife too."

"I think I'm almost sorry," said Helena reflectively. "I don't think
he sounds the sort of person who'd be much good unless alone. But I'm
so silly with words. I never can explain and I expect I'm wrong."

There seemed, at any rate, some wisdom in her cryptic estimate.

The dinner-party was not a success.

Helena was so charming to Kenneth Boyd that Hubert, almost beyond
himself with pride and refraining with difficulty from kissing her when
she was too especially delicious, wondered why on earth he had so long
delayed showing his old friends how sweetly original a little simpleton
he had secured in spite of all their jeers. Kenneth, over a glass of
port from the local grocer, was absolute enthusiasm and delighted his
host till he turned suddenly and said; "Now own that I was absolutely
right?" With the wives, however, it was different. Mrs. Boyd said
afterwards to her husband: "Just the poor little undeveloped fool one
would expect any one so conceited to take as his wife!" whilst Helena
thought her a rude pig, and neither was too subtle in concealing her
opinion.

This instinct of hostility was fatal to any real union between the
households. Hubert noted with amusement how, at each fresh encounter,
the two wives became more and more affectionately cold, and soon kissed
on meeting.

He turned, with Helena still urging him, to other possibilities.

It was then that he thought of Geoffrey Alison.

"Geoffrey Alison," exclaimed Hubert with far more conviction than about
Kenneth Boyd. "He really _is_ the man! Amusing, clever, full of
energy, and too young to be really busy." This in a condescending way.

"Why, how old is he?" she enquired. "I want some one, you know, who is
cleverer than me and can tell me things at galleries and places."

He smiled at her. "Well, I think he could tell you things, he must be
twenty-nine by now. Besides, I was able once to do him a good turn, he
is a sort of protege; so he'd be only too glad to take you about and as
you call it, tell you things at galleries and places. He's pretty good
on art."

The word protege was rolled upon his tongue; the episode of Geoffrey
Alison had pleased him a good deal; but Helena did not seem reassured.

"Oh, thank you!" she said, girlishly for these days when she had begun
duly to expand as wished. "If he'd think he was doing it as a great
favour, just to pay