e due to people
wanting to understand?" said Lady Tanagra calmly. "I never want to
understand. There are certain things I know and these are sufficient
for me. In this case I know that I have a very good brother and he
wants to marry a very good girl; but for some reason she won't have
anything to do either with him or with me." She looked up into
Patricia's face with a smile so wholly disarming that Patricia was
forced to laugh.

"If you knew Patricia's opinion of herself," she said to Lady Tanagra,
"you would be almost shocked."

"Well, now, will you do something just to please me?" insinuated Lady
Tanagra. "You see this big brother of mine has always been more or
less my adopted child, and you have it in your power to hurt him more
than I want to see him hurt." There was an unusually serious note in
Lady Tanagra's voice. "Why not let things go on as they are for the
present, then later the engagement can be broken off if you wish it.
I'll speak to Peter and see that he is not tiresome."

"Oh, but he's never been that!" protested Patricia, then she stopped
suddenly in confusion.

Lady Tanagra smiled to herself.

"Well, if he's never been tiresome I'm sure you wouldn't like to hurt
him, would you?" She was speaking as if to a child.

"The only person I want to hurt is Aunt Adelaide," said Patricia with a
laugh.

Lady Tanagra noticed with pleasure that the mood seemed to be dropping
from her.

"Well, may I be the physician for to-day?" continued Lady Tanagra.

Patricia nodded her head.

"Very well, then, I prescribe a dinner this evening with one Tanagra
Bowen, Peter Bowen and Godfrey Elton, on the principle of 'Eat thou and
drink, to-morrow thou shalt die.'"

"Who is Godfrey Elton?" asked Patricia with interest.

"My dear Patricia, if I were to start endeavouring to describe Godfrey
we should be at it for hours. You can't describe Godfrey, you can only
absorb him. He is a sort of wise youth rapidly approaching childhood."

"What on earth do you mean?" cried Patricia, laughing.

"You will discover for yourself later. We are all dining at the
Quadrant to-night at eight."

"Dining at the Quadrant?" repeated Patricia in amazement.

"Yes, and I have to get home to dress and you have to dress and I will
pick you up in a taxi at a quarter to eight."

"But--but--Peter--your brother said that he was coming----"

"Peter has greater faith in his sister than in himself, he therefore
took me into