fe's face had a strained and
puzzled look.

"You didn't-?" he began.

"No; but Jon knows their name. The girl dropped her handkerchief and he
picked it up."

Jolyon sat down on his bed. An evil chance!

"June was with you. Did she put her foot into it?"

"No; but it was all very queer and strained, and Jon could see it was."

Jolyon drew a long breath, and said:

"I've often wondered whether we've been right to keep it from him. He'll
find out some day."

"The later the better, Jolyon; the young have such cheap, hard judgment.
When you were nineteen what would you have thought of your mother if she
had done what I have?"

Yes! There it was! Jon worshipped his mother; and knew nothing of the
tragedies, the inexorable necessities of life, nothing of the prisoned
grief in an unhappy marriage, nothing of jealousy or passion--knew
nothing at all, as yet!

"What have you told him?" he said at last.

"That they were relations, but we didn't know them; that you had never
cared much for your family, or they for you. I expect he will be asking
you."

Jolyon smiled. "This promises to take the place of air-raids," he said.
"After all, one misses them."

Irene looked up at him.

"We've known it would come some day."

He answered her with sudden energy:

"I could never stand seeing Jon blame you. He shan't do that, even in
thought. He has imagination; and he'll understand if it's put to him
properly. I think I had better tell him before he gets to know
otherwise."

"Not yet, Jolyon."

That was like her--she had no foresight, and never went to meet trouble.
Still--who knew?--she might be right. It was ill going against a
mother's instinct. It might be well to let the boy go on, if possible,
till experience had given him some touchstone by which he could judge the
values of that old tragedy; till love, jealousy, longing, had deepened
his charity. All the same, one must take precautions--every precaution
possible! And, long after Irene had left him, he lay awake turning over
those precautions. He must write to Holly, telling her that Jon knew
nothing as yet of family history. Holly was discreet, she would make sure
of her husband, she would see to it! Jon could take the letter with him
when he went to-morrow.

And so the day on which he had put the polish on his material estate died
out with the chiming of the stable clock; and another began for Jolyon in
the shadow of a spiritual disorder whic