the telephone. She had so
much to do and arrange that she had to go from one thing to another as
fast as she could. She rang up the rooms in Clarges Street where she
knew that Hadassah Ireton was going to stay. She ought to have arrived
that afternoon. When at last she got on to the right number, she was
answered by the husband of the landlady, an ex-butler, and an admirable
_maitre de cuisine_.

"Has Mrs. Ireton arrived yet?" Margaret asked.

"Yes, she arrived at five o'clock. Who shall I say speaking?"

"Ask her if she can speak to Miss Lampton, please, for a few minutes.
Will you tell her that it is very urgent?"

The next minute Margaret heard Hadassah's voice.

"Hallo! Miss Lampton, is that you?"

"Yes," Margaret said. "But, please, not Miss Lampton!"

"Well, Margaret--I always think of you as Margaret. How nice of you to
ring me up and welcome me to London!"

"Hadassah," Margaret said breathlessly; her heart was beating with her
news; she spoke rather loudly, "I rang you up to tell you that I'm
going to be married the day after tomorrow!"

Hadassah heard Margaret sigh even through the telephone. It was a sigh
of pent-up emotion, an expression of relief.

Margaret waited. She knew that she had taken Hadassah so completely by
surprise that she had no answer ready.

"Margaret!" she said at last, in amazement, "who to?"

Margaret detected, or fancied she did, a little coldness in her
question. There was certainly not the pleased ring of congratulation
which she had expected in her words.

"Why, to Michael Amory, of course! Who else could it be?" Margaret's
happy laugh crackled in Hadassah's ears.

"Oh, my dear, I'm so glad! What a wonderful surprise! Is he in
London? When did he turn up?"

"He has been to the Front--as a Tommy, but he's got his commission in
the same regiment. I only met him to-day--he's just got back. I feel
too bewildered to think; I scarcely know what I am saying."

"Is this the first time that you've seen him since you parted in
Egypt?" Hadassah's voice expressed both amusement and eager curiosity.

"Yes, to speak to. We met in the train. Some months ago I saw him at
a railway-station in the North. He was passing through, and I was
there, but we had no opportunity of speaking to each other." In the
same breathless voice she said, "Freddy would approve. I know what you
are thinking, but it's all right--he's as keen as Freddy about the war,
and there neve