press her to stay; he saw that her mind was made up.

He opened the door of the drawing-room, and they filed out. As Erebus
passed out, she turned and made a hideous grimace at him. She was
desirous that he should not overrate her apology.

CHAPTER XIV

AND THE SOUND OF WEDDING BELLS

Sir James came through the hall with them, carelessly taking his cap
from the horn of an antelope on the wall as he passed it. He came down
the steps, along the gardens to the side gate, and through it into the
park, talking to Mrs. Dangerfield of the changes he had found in the
gardens of the Grange after his last five years of big game shooting
about the world.

Mrs. Dangerfield had not liked her errand; and she was in no mood for
companionship. But she could not drive him from her side on his own
land. They walked slowly; the Twins forged ahead. When Sir James and
Mrs. Dangerfield came out of the park, the Twins were out of sight.
Mere politeness demanded that he should walk the rest of the way with
her.

When the Twins were out of the hearing of their mother and Sir James,
the Terror said:

"Well, he was quite decent about it. It made him much more
uncomfortable than we were. I suppose it was because we're more used
to Mum."

"What did the silly idiot want to give us away at all for?" said the
unappeased Erebus.

"Oh, well; he didn't mean to. It was an accident, you know," said the
Terror.

His provident mind foresaw advantages to be attained from a closer
intimacy with Sir James.

"Accident! People shouldn't have accidents like that!" said Erebus in
a tone of bitter scorn.

When he and Mrs. Dangerfield came out of the park, Sir James
diplomatically fell to lauding the Twins to the skies, their beauty,
their grace and their intelligence. The diplomacy was not natural (he
was no diplomat) but accidental: the Twins were the only subject he
could at the moment think of. He could not have found a quicker way to
Mrs. Dangerfield's approval. She had been disposed to dislike him for
having been blackmailed by them; his praise of them softened her heart.
Discussing them, they came right to the gate of Colet House; and it was
only natural that she should invite him to tea. He accepted with
alacrity. At tea he changed the subject: they talked about her.

He came home yet more interested in her, resolved yet more firmly to
see more of her. With a natural simplicity he used his skill in
woodcraft to compass