hout
words; the wonder of it had dazed him. He had thought of her so often
in that quaint, dainty little chamber in Grey Street that to see her
here so unexpectedly, without the least warning or anticipation, was
like being suddenly confronted with a picture which had stepped out
of its frame. And that she should be here, too, of all places, here
in this bleak corner of the kingdom, where blustering winds swept
bare the sullen moorland, and the sea was always grey and stormy. What
strange fate could have brought her here, away from all the warmth and
luxury of London, to this half-deserted old manor house on the verge
of the heath? His mind was too confused in those first few moments to
follow out any definite train of thought. The most natural conclusion,
that she had come to him, did not enter his imagination.

His first impulse, as his senses became clearer, was to glance around
for the woman who had called Adrea her step-daughter. She was gone.
She must have stepped out of the room by the opposite doorway; and
with the knowledge that they were alone, he breathed freer.

"Adrea!" he said, "it is really you, then!"

His words, necessarily commonplace, dissolved the situation. She
laughed softly, and came further into the room.

"It is I," she said. "Did you think that I was an elf from
spirit-land?"

He had never shaken hands with her,--it was a thing which had never
occurred to either of them; but a sudden impulse came to him then. He
took a hasty step forward, and clasped both her little white hands in
his. So they stood for another minute in silence, and a strange, soft
light flashed in her upturned eyes. She was very near to him, and
there was an indefinable sense of yielding in her manner, amounting
almost to a mute invitation. He felt that he had only to open his
arms, and that strange, beautiful face, with its mocking, quivering
mouth, would be very close to his. The old battle was forced upon him
to fight all over again; and, alas! he was no stronger.

It was almost as though she had seen the hesitation--the conflict in
him--for with a sudden, imperious gesture she withdrew her hands and
turned away from him. There was a scarlet flush creeping through the
deep olive of her cheeks, and her eyes were dry and brilliant. Paul,
who had never studied women or their ways, looked at her, surprised
and a little hurt.

"You are surprised to see me here, of course?" she said, sinking into
a low easy-chair, and t