-

"By the way, we never see anything of Mr Musgrave now. Its ages since
he's been here."

"I was nearly saying, `small wonder, after the way you treated him.'
But I won't, for there, at any rate, is a man whom even you can't make a
fool of. He's built of sterner stuff."

"Is he?" with a provoking smile. "But what on earth do you mean, Grace,
by `the way in which I treated him'?"

"Oh, you know very well what I mean. You did nothing but encourage him
at first; then you cold-shouldered him, and launched out in a fast and
furious flirtation with the new doctor, because he _was_ new, I
suppose."

"So was the other. But, Grace, I didn't cold-shoulder him. I liked the
man. If he was so weak as to become jealous of the doctor, I can't help
it."

"Weak!" flashed out Grace. "Weak! I don't think there's much weakness
about Mr Musgrave, and I'm certain he's not the sort of man to indulge
in anything so--so--feeble as jealousy."

"Then he won't do for me," rejoined Mona, with a light laugh. "I don't
care about a man who can't be jealous. I like them to be jealous.
Makes one more valuable, don't you see."

"All right, Mona, my child. I can only say what I've said more than
once before, and that is, Wait until your own time comes, as come it
assuredly will; then we shall see."

Furious with herself for doing so, Mona was conscious of colouring ever
so slightly at this prediction, often uttered, but coming now so close
upon her former meditations. She took refuge by the bold expedient of
running in right under the enemy's guns.

"Far be it from me to disparage your knight errant, Gracie," she
replied, with a mischievous laugh, and a slight emphasis on `your.' "So
he is made of sterner stuff, is he?"

The only answer was a sniff of contempt.

"Very well," she went on adopting this as an affirmative; "what will you
bet me I don't bring him to my feet in a fortnight, Gracie?"

"I won't bet on anything so ridiculous--so atrocious," was the tart
reply. "Roden Musgrave is too far out of the ordinary specimen of a man
to be twisted round even your finger, Mona."

It was the speaker's turn to colour now. She had spoken with such
unconscious warmth that Mona was gazing fixedly at her with the most
mischievous expression in the world.

"Oh!" was all she said. But the ejaculation spoke volumes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a curious coincidence, but a co