d
out of the room, leaving Honor to her own disturbing thoughts.

* * * * *

Each month was forcing upon the girl a clearer revelation of the clash
of temperament, which threatened to bring about serious disunion
between these two, whose happiness had become a vital part of her
life; and her spirit was troubled beyond measure. The strongest
passion of Honor Meredith's heart was the true woman's passion--to
protect and help. But worldly wisdom warned her that her hands were
tied; that man and wife must work out their own salvation, or the
reverse, without help or hindrance from her.

Since their return from Murree such flashes of dissension had become
increasingly frequent between them. It is astonishing how quickly two
people can fall into a habit of discord. Abstinence from tobacco was
not without its effect upon Desmond's nerves and temper, tried as they
were by Evelyn's pin-prick methods of warfare; while she herself was
often strung into irritability by her own unacknowledged troubles.

The passing relief wrought by Miss Kresney's loan had evaporated with
the realisation that she had only contracted a debt in another
direction--a debt more embarrassing than all the rest put together;
for she knew that she would never have the courage to speak of it to
her husband. Miss Kresney had told her to take her time in the matter
of repayment, and she had taken it in generous measure. Not a fraction
of the three hundred rupees had been repaid as yet; and, by way of
atonement, Evelyn felt constrained to a more decisive friendliness
with both brother and sister--a fact which Owen Kresney noted with
satisfaction; and which did not improve matters between herself and
Theo.

As the weeks wore on he devoted his spare time more exclusively to
polo and Persian; continuing his lessons to Honor; and rarely spending
his evenings in the drawing-room, unless the girl's music held him
spellbound, and ensured the avoidance of dangerous topics. Evelyn
retorted by a renewed zest for tennis and tea-parties; an increasing
tendency to follow the line of least resistance, regardless of
results. Thus Honor found herself thrown more and more upon the
companionship of Mrs Olliver, Mrs Conolly, and Paul Wyndham, whose
anxiety for Theo she guessed at, even as they guessed her own, though
never a word on the subject passed between them.

Evelyn's anxiety was reserved exclusively for herself. She had sense
enough t