elations were established. Mrs. Chigwin was
delighted at the easy way in which the difficulty had been overcome, and
in the afternoon she treated her friends in such a genuinely hospitable
and considerate fashion that they were soon perfectly at their ease.
Indeed, the three old people became very intimate, and spent their
Christmas together in peace and charity.

Alan came over one day early in February to see his aunt, and make sure
that she was as comfortable as she professed to be. It was a
characteristic proceeding on his part. Mrs. Bundlecombe, as the reader
may have observed, was not very poetic in her taste, and not so refined
in manners as most of the women with whom Alan now associated. But he
always thought of her as the sister of his mother, to whom he had been
romantically attached; and he had good reason, moreover, to appreciate
her devotion to himself during the last year or so. He found her fairly
happy, and said nothing which might disturb her peace of mind. Lettice
Campion, he told her, had recovered from a serious illness, and had gone
on the Continent for a few weeks with Mrs. Hartley. He was bent on
obtaining a divorce, and expected the case to come on shortly. This he
treated as a matter for unmixed rejoicing; and he casually declared that
he had not seen "the Frenchwoman" for eight or ten weeks; which was true
enough, but only because he was carefully keeping out of her way. And it
was a poor equivocation, as the reader will presently see.

So Mrs. Bundlecome flattered herself that things were going fairly well
with her nephew, and she possessed her soul in patience.

Now as Alan sat talking to his aunt in Mrs. Chigwin's best room, looking
out upon the garden on Mrs. Harrington's side, he suddenly started, and
stopped short in what he was saying.

"Why, Aunt Bessy, who on earth is living next door to you?"

Mrs. Bundlecombe looked where he pointed, and was almost as much
surprised as himself to see Lettice's former maid, Milly, walking in the
garden with all the airs and graces of a grand lady. She had on a fur
cloak, and a little cap to match, and she looked so handsome and
well-dressed that it would not have been surprising if Alan had not
recognized her. But Milly's pretty face, once seen, was not easily
forgotten; and, as she was associated with Lettice in Alan's mind, he
had all the more reason for recalling her features.

"That is the first I have seen of her in these parts," said Mrs.