No.'

'If you had done, you would have known that I came to meet two ladies,
my sisters. I walked with them to the station, and now I am going home.
You seem to think an explanation necessary--'

'Do forgive me! What right have I to ask anything of the kind? But I
have been very restless since Sunday. I wished so to meet you, if only
for a few minutes. Only an hour or two ago I posted a letter to you.'

Monica said nothing.

'It was to ask you to meet me next Sunday, as we arranged. Shall you be
able to do so?'

'I'm afraid I can't. At the end of this week I leave my place here, and
on Sunday I shall be moving to another part of London.'

'You are leaving? You have decided to make the change you spoke of?'

'Yes.'

'And will you tell me where you are going to live?'

'In lodgings near Great Portland Street. I must say good-night, Mr.
Widdowson. I must, indeed.'

'Please--do give me one moment!'

'I can't stay--I can't--good-night!'

It was impossible for him to detain her. Ungracefully he caught at his
hat, made the salute, and moved away with rapid, uneven strides. In
less than half an hour he was back again at this spot. He walked past
the shop many times without pausing; his eyes devoured the front of the
building, and noted those windows in which there was a glimmer of
light. He saw girls enter by the private door, but Monica did not again
show herself. Some time after midnight, when the house had long been
dark and perfectly quiet, the uneasy man took a last look, and then
sought a cab to convey him home.

The letter of which he had spoken reached Monica's hands next morning.
It was a very respectful invitation to accompany the writer on a drive
in Surrey. Widdowson proposed to meet her at Herne Hill railway
station, where his vehicle would be waiting. 'In passing, I shall be
able to point out to you the house which has been my home for about a
year.'

As circumstances were, it would be hardly possible to accept this
invitation without exciting curiosity in her sisters. The Sunday
morning would be occupied, probably, in going to the new lodgings and
making the acquaintance of her future companion there; in the
afternoon, her sisters were to pay here a visit, as Alice had decided
to start for Somerset on the Monday. She must write a refusal, but it
was by no means her wish to discourage Widdowson altogether. The note
which at length satisfied her ran thus:

'DEAR MR. WIDDOWSON--I am very sorry th