other is killing herself," said Romayne.

"If I could persuade her to stay with us a little while," Stella
suggested, "the rest and quiet might do wonders for her. Would you
object to it, Lewis?"

"My darling, I object to nothing--except giving a ball and burning
my books. If your mother will yield on these two points, my house is
entirely at her disposal."

He spoke playfully--he looked his best, since he had separated himself
from the painful associations that were now connected with Vange Abbey.
Had "the torment of the Voice" been left far away in Yorkshire? Stella
shrank from approaching the subject in her husband's presence, knowing
that it must remind him of the fatal duel. To her surprise, Romayne
himself referred to the General's family.

"I have written to Hynd," he began. "Do you mind his dining with us
to-day?"

"Of course not!"

"I want to hear if he has anything to tell me--about those French
ladies. He undertook to see them, in your absence, and to ascertain--"
He was unable to overcome his reluctance to pronounce the next words.
Stella was quick to understand what he meant. She finished the sentence
for him.

"Yes," he said, "I wanted to hear how the boy is getting on, and if
there is any hope of curing him. Is it--" he trembled as he put the
question--"Is it hereditary madness?"

Feeling the serious importance of concealing the truth, Stella only
replied that she had hesitated to ask if there was a taint of madness in
the family. "I suppose," she added, "you would not like to see the boy,
and judge of his chances of recovery for yourself?"

"You suppose?" he burst out, with sudden anger. "You might be sure. The
bare idea of seeing him turns me cold. Oh, when shall I forget!
when shall I forget! Who spoke of him first?" he said, with renewed
irritability, after a moment of silence. "You or I?"

"It was my fault, love--he is so harmless and so gentle, and he has such
a sweet face--I thought it might soothe you to see him. Forgive me; we
will never speak of him again. Have you any notes for me to copy? You
know, Lewis, I am your secretary now."

So she led Romayne away to his study and his books. When Major Hynd
arrived, she contrived to be the first to see him. "Say as little as
possible about the General's widow and her son," she whispered.

The Major understood her. "Don't be uneasy, Mrs. Romayne," he answered.
"I know your husband well enough to know what you mean. Besides, the
news I br