ore an expression almost
of sadness. But she gave him no clue to her feelings, and when the time
came for him to take his leave her manner was more affectionate than
usual.

She was still on the balcony as he passed out, and a cheery
"Good-night, my son," floated down to him. But as she stood listening
to his departing footsteps she said to herself, "He is changed somehow,
he is not quite himself, and Anna has noticed it. I wonder"--and here
she sighed rather heavily--"I wonder what sort of woman this Miss
Elizabeth Templeton can be."

CHAPTER XVIII

"YES, SHE GAVE HIM UP"

Thou art so good,
So calm!--If thou shouldst wear a brow less light
For some wild thought which, but for me, were kept
From out thy soul as from a sacred star!
--BROWNING.

To every living soul that same He saith,
"Be faithful;" whatsoever else we be,
Let us be faithful, challenging His faith.
--CHRISTINA ROSSETTI.

The Manor House where the Godfreys lived was a fine old red-brick
Elizabethan house, standing about a quarter of a mile from the river.

A delightful garden surrounded it, but the chief point of attraction to
visitors was a terrace walk, shaded by old chestnut trees, which formed
its extreme boundary, and which, on the hottest summer's day, offered a
cool and shady retreat.

The terrace was broad, and at one end was a sort of loggia or alcove
built of grayish-white stone, with a wide stone bench running round it.
From this point there was a charming view of the river between the
trees, and it was here that Malcolm found his hostess on his arrival at
the Manor House.

Mrs. Godfrey was reading in the loggia, with her husband's magnificent
deer-hounds lying at her feet. She laid aside her book and welcomed her
visitor with a warmth and cordiality that were evidently sincere.
Strangers who saw Mrs. Godfrey for the first time were generally apt to
remark that she was one of the plainest women they had ever seen; and
they would add in a parenthesis, "It is such a pity, for the Colonel is
so handsome." But even the most critical agreed that no woman could be
more charming. She had spent a great deal of her life abroad, and her
easy, well-bred manner, her savoir-faire and broad, sagacious views on
every subject, had been gained in the world's academy. In spite of her
goodness of heart and real unselfishness,