ave been the necessity of admitting a flaw in her idol. Her one
desire was to justify Arthur, and place him beyond the reach of blame.
Before she had taken twenty steps forward, she was saying brokenly to
herself:

"Yes, I deserved it! It is easy to be sharp, and say cutting things at
another person's expense. I had the chance of speaking kindly, and of
helping her to a better decision, but I let it go, and gave her a sneer
instead. I deserved it, Arthur dear! I _did_ deserve it, but oh! you
must forgive me soon. It's like red-hot knives sticking into my heart
to think that you are angry with me!"

But Arthur was not thinking about Peggy. He was standing beside
Rosalind at the end of the shrubbery, his eyes shining, his face
beautified by a great tenderness.

"Now, Rosie!" he cried, "now! Tell me all about it!"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Rosalind gave a little sob and flicked her handkerchief across her eyes.

"Peggy thinks I am worldly," she said brokenly, "and when I twy to
confide in her, she puts her head in the air and looks as if she had no
patience to listen. She says cwuel things!"

"I'm sorry, Rosalind, and so will she be herself, when she has had time
to think. Peg is a hasty little mortal, but you know how loving and
staunch she is, and I am sure she had not the remotest intention of
wounding you. What was it all about? What was the subject under
discussion?"

But at this Rosalind blushed and hesitated. A problematical marriage
was no easy matter to explain to Arthur Saville, yet mingled with her
embarrassment was a strange eagerness to hear what he would have to say
on the subject. Never once in all these years had a word of love passed
Arthur's lips, but Rosalind was too experienced a woman of the world to
be in any doubt as to his sentiments. She knew that he loved her, and
had been grateful to him for the reticence which made it possible to
continue on terms of friendship, but at this crisis of her life the old
friendship seemed insufficient, and her heart went out to Arthur in a
rush of love and longing.

"I asked her advice about--accepting Lord Everscourt!" she said,
faltering; and there was a moment's silence before Arthur replied
quietly:

"I see! Just so. And Peggy said?"

"She said she was sowwy for him, not me. She said that I looked upon it
as a business arrangement, and seemed to think that I could never really
care for any man."

"And was she misjudging you? _Do_