on the dear, thin
cheeks; Esther, with her long, solemn visage; Mellicent, plump and rosy;
Rex, with his handsome features and budding moustache; Oswald,
immaculately blond--they could all be called up at will, and would
remain contentedly in their frames until such times as she chose to
dismiss them; but Rob's face refused to be recalled in the same easy
fashion. Now and again, from out the gloom, a pair of stormy eyes would
flash upon her, or she would catch her breath as a stooping figure
seemed to rise suddenly beside the palm-trees; but Rob, as a whole, had
refused to be recalled, until at his brother's words his image had
appeared before her in so vivid and characteristic a guise that it
seemed almost as if Rob himself stood by her side. She drew a long
breath, and chimed in with an eager--

"Yes, yes! And his great long arms waving about--I never knew any one
with such long arms as Rob. And a pair of thick, nailed boots, with all
four tabs sticking out, and a tie slipping round to the back of his
neck. It's exactly like him. I can see him now!"

Hector Darcy shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't, please! It's not a pleasant prospect. I try to let distance
lend enchantment to the view, for it's bad enough having to go about
with him when I am at home. The fellow would not be bad-looking, if he
took a little care of himself; but he is absolutely regardless of
appearances."

"He must have an idea that there are other things of more importance.
He was always a ridiculous boy!" murmured Miss Saville sweetly. The
major glanced at her with a suspicious eye, once more disturbed by the
suspicion that she was being sarcastic at his expense, but Peggy was
gazing dreamily through the opposite windows, her delicately cut profile
thrown into relief against the dark wood of the background. She looked
so young, so fragile and innocent, that it seemed quite criminal to have
harboured such a suspicion. He was convinced that she was far too sweet
and unassuming a girl to laugh at such a superior person as Major Hector
Darcy.

CHAPTER THREE.

A fortnight later the passengers on board the steamer were
congratulating themselves on having accomplished half their journey, and
being within ten days' sail of England. The waters of the Mediterranean
surrounded them, clear and blue as the sky overhead, a healthful breeze
supplanted the calm, and the spirits of the travellers rose ever higher
and higher. Homeward bound i