he took his place beside her the cabman opened his trap-door and
asked with the hoarseness of his kind:

"W'ere to, sir?"

Joyselle frowned. "To--Piccadilly. I'll tell you when we get to where I
wish to stop."

Brigit suppressed a smile. Now he was thinking, she saw, that he would
tell her of his intended departure before he gave the Cunard Company's
address.

He was pale, but to her surprise looked younger rather than older than
usual. His mental disturbance had left traces on his face, and they
were, as it was, young in their nature. He had fallen in love, and the
youth in him, both physical and mental, flared up responsively to the
call of the emotion.

Suddenly she saw her line of action clearly marked out for her, and
without an instant's hesitation took it. If he suspected that she loved
him, nothing in the world could keep him by her. So he must not know. In
all her dreams and reflections about their relations, she had never
taken into account the possibility of things turning out as they had.
She had always tacitly taken for granted that it would be by her will
that the man should be waked up to the real state of his own mind. Even
after the evening of the dragon-skin frock he had not known the real
explanation of his amazement on her entrance, and had, she knew, merely
advanced in his perilous path to the point of realising that she was,
although his future daughter, an amazingly desirable woman.

So far she had read him correctly. But that something outside her own
personal sway should open his eyes she had not anticipated.

This had, however, happened, and with the acute intuition of a woman
fighting for her life, she understood what she must do to prevent his
flight.

So, turning towards him, she smiled amusedly.

"_Eh, b'en_, Beau-papa? Got over your fright? You big baby!"

He stared, and she went on without a pause, but speaking slowly, to give
an idea of leisure, "To think that you of all people should be afraid of
_thunder_! It was lucky you had your valorous daughter to shield you."

He gave a short, nervous laugh. "Yes, it is very idiotic, I know, but----"

"And then to bolt away into the very thick of it! That was because you
were _ashamed_! I shall tell _petite mere_ and Theo. But it was an awful
storm, and so fearfully warm afterwards, wasn't it? I couldn't sleep at
all--that's why I'm up so early. I came over to ask you to go up to
Hampstead with me to get some real air. This London