said Saltash.

"Thirty-five," said Juliet idly.

Again his brows went up. "How on earth do you know these things
off-hand?"

Her grey eyes were quizzical. "You are quite young enough yet to be
happy--if only the right woman turns up."

He leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head, and contemplated
her with a criticism that lasted several seconds. His dark face wore its
funny, monkeyish look of regret, half-wistful and half-feigned.

"I wish--" he said suddenly--"I wish I'd come down here when you first
began to rusticate."

"Why?" said Juliet, with her level eyes upon him.

He laughed and sprang abruptly to his feet. "_Quien sabe_? I might have
turned rustic too--pious also, my _Juliette_! Think of it! Life isn't
fair to me. Why am I condemned always to ride the desert alone?"

"Mainly because you ride too hard," said Juliet. "None but you can keep
up the pace. Ah!" She turned her head quickly, and the swift colour
flooded her face.

"Ah!" mocked Saltash softly, watching her. "Is it Romeo's step
that I hear?"

Columbus wagged his tail in welcome as Dick Green came round the corner
of the Ricketts' cottage and walked down under the apple-trees to join
them. He greeted Saltash with the quiet self-assurance of a man who
treads his own ground. There was no hint of hostility in his bearing.

"I've been expecting you," he said coolly.

"Have you?" said Saltash, a gleam of malicious humour in his eyes. "I
thought there was something of the conquering hero about you. I have
come--naturally--to congratulate you on your conquest."

"Thank you," said Dick, and seated himself on the bench beside Juliet and
Columbus. "That is very magnanimous of you."

"It is," agreed Saltash. "But if I had known what was in the wind I
might have carried it still further and offered you Burchester Castle for
the honeymoon."

"How kind of you!" said Juliet. "But we prefer cottages to castles, don't
we, Dick? We might have had the Court. The squire very kindly suggested
it. But we like this best--till our own house is in order."

"Still rusticating!" commented Saltash. "I should have thought your
passion for that would have been satisfied by this time. I seem to have
got out of touch with you all during my stay in Scotland. I never meant
to go there this year, but I got lured away by Muff and his crowd. Mighty
poor sport on the whole. I've often wished myself back. But I pictured
you far away on the _Night Moth_ with Mr.