riendship. He seemed to have no use
for it. He seemed, in fact, to avoid her, and the old shyness that had
oppressed her in the beginning returned upon her fourfold. She admitted
to herself that she was becoming afraid of the man. The very sound of
his voice made her heart beat thick and hard, and each succeeding day
witnessed a diminishing of her confidence.

Under these circumstances she withdrew more and more into her solitude,
and it was with something like dismay that she received the news from
Granny Grimshaw at the beginning of Christmas week that it was Jeff's
custom to entertain two or three of his farmer friends at supper on
Christmas Eve.

"Only the menkind, my dear," said Granny Grimshaw consolingly. "And
they're easy enough to amuse, as all the world knows. Give 'em a good
feed, and they won't give any trouble. It's quite a job to get ready for
'em, that it is, but it's the only bit of entertaining he does all the
year round, so I don't grudge it."

"You must let me help you," Doris said.

And help she did, protest notwithstanding, so that Jeff, returning from
his work in the middle of the day, was surprised to find her flushed and
animated in the kitchen, clad in one of Granny Grimshaw's aprons,
rolling out pastry with the ready deftness of a practised pastry-cook.

There was no dismay in her greeting of him, and only she knew of that
sudden quickening of the heart that invariably followed his appearance.

"You didn't tell me about your Christmas party, Jeff," she said. "Granny
and I are going to give you a big spread. I hope you will invite me to
the feast."

Jeff's dark face flushed a little as he made reply. "I'm afraid you
wouldn't enjoy it much."

"But you haven't introduced me to any of your friends yet," she
protested. "I should like to meet them."

"I'm not so sure of that," said Jeff.

She looked up at him for a moment. "Don't you think that's rather a
mistake?" she said.

"Why?" said Jeff.

With something of an effort she explained. "To take it for granted that
I shall look down on them. I don't want to look down on them, Jeff."

"It isn't that," said Jeff curtly. "But they're not your sort. They
don't talk your language. I'm not sure that I want you to meet them."

"But you can't keep me away from everyone, can you?" she said gently.

He did not answer her, and she returned to her pastry-making in silence.

But evidently her words had made some impression, for that evening whe