of the letter-rack; but her eyes were
arrested by two boxes, one very large and obviously from a florist. A
strange excitement seized her. "Were they----?"

At that moment Miss Sikkum came out of the lounge simpering.

"Oh, Miss Brent! have you seen your beautiful presents?"

Then Patricia knew, and she became angry with herself on finding how
extremely happy she was. Glancing almost indifferently at the labels
she proceeded to walk upstairs. Miss Sikkum looked at her in amazement.

"But aren't you going to open them?" she blurted out.

"Oh! presently," said Patricia in an off-hand way, "I had no idea it
was so late," and she ran upstairs, leaving Miss Sikkum gazing after
her in petrified astonishment.

That evening Patricia took more than usual pains with her toilette.
Had she paused to ask herself why, she would have been angry.

When she came downstairs, the other boarders were seated at the table,
all expectantly awaiting her entrance. On the table, in the front of
her chair, were the two boxes.

"I had your presents brought in here, Miss Brent," explained Mrs.
Craske-Morton.

"Oh! I had forgotten all about them," said Patricia indifferently, "I
suppose I had better open them," which she proceeded to do.

The smaller box contained chocolates, as Mr. Bolton put it, "evidently
bought by the hundred-weight." The larger of the boxes was filled with
an enormous spray-bunch of white and red carnations, tied with green
silk ribbon, and on the top of each box was a card, "With love from
Peter."

Patricia's cheeks burned. She was angry, she told herself, yet there
was a singing in her heart and a light in her eyes that oddly belied
her. He had not forgotten! He had dared to disobey her injunction;
for, she told herself, "good-bye" clearly forbade the sending of
flowers and chocolates. She was unconscious that every eye was upon
her, and the smile with which she regarded now the flowers, now the
chocolates, was self-revelatory.

Mrs. Mosscrop-Smythe glanced significantly at Miss Wangle, who,
however, was too occupied in watching Patricia with hawk-like
intentness to be conscious of anything but the quarry.

Suddenly Patricia remembered, and her face changed. The flowers faded,
the chocolates lost their sweetness and the smile vanished. The parted
lips set in a firm but mobile line. What had before been a tribute now
became in her eyes an insult. Men sent chocolates and flowers to--to
"those wom