le
things with which he was familiar. Edhart always used to place flowers
in his apartment; and it was like that.

"The only bother with the arrangement," he said, looking serious, "is
that it takes your time. Ought n't you to be at Julien's this morning?"

She had forgotten about Julien's. Yet for the last two years it had
been the very center other own individual life. Now the crowded
studio, the smell of turpentine, the odd cosmopolitan gathering of
fellow students, the little pangs following the bitter criticisms of
the master, receded into the background until they became as a dream of
long ago.

"I don't think I shall ever go to Julien's again," she answered.

"But look here--that won't do," he objected. "If I'm to interfere with
all your plans--"

"It isn't that, Monte," she assured him. "Ever since I came back this
last time, I knew I did n't belong there. When Aunt Kitty was alive it
was all the opportunity I had; but now--" She paused.

"Well?"

"I have my hands full with you until you get out again," she answered
lightly.

"That's what I object to," he said; "If being engaged is going to pin
you down, then I don't think you ought to be engaged. You've had
enough of that in your life."

The curious feature of her present position was that she had no sense
of being pinned down. She had thought of this in the night. She had
never felt freer in her life. Within a few hours of her engagement she
had been able to do exactly what she wished to do without a single
qualm of conscience. She had been able to come here and look after him
in this emergency. She would have done this anyway, but she knew how
Marcellin and his assistant and even Nurse Duval would have made her
pay for her act--an act based upon nothing but decent loyalty and
honest responsibility. Raised eyebrows--gossip in the air--covert
smiles--the whole detestable atmosphere of intrigue with which they
would have surrounded her, had vanished as by a spell before the magic
word fiancee. She was breathing air like that upon the mountain-tops.
It was sweet and clean and bracing.

"Monte," she said, "I'm doing at this moment just exactly what I want
to do; and you can't understand what a treat that is, because you've
always done just exactly as you wanted. I 'm sure I 'm entirely
selfish about this, because--because I'm not making any sacrifice. You
can't understand that, either, Monte,--so please don't try. I think
we'd bett