hem almost instantly Mrs. Bishop opposed
the strong and intuitive jealousy of egotism. She had as yet no fears as
to the young man's intentions, but instinctively she felt an influence
that opposed her own supreme dominance. In consequence, Orde had much
time to himself. Carroll and the rest of the family, with the possible
exception of Gerald, shared the belief that the slightest real
opposition to Mrs. Bishop would suffice to throw her into one of her
"spells," a condition of alarming and possibly genuine collapse. "To
drive mother into a spell" was an expression of the worst possible
domestic crime. It accused the perpetrator--through Mrs. Bishop--of
forgetting the state of affairs, of ingratitude for care and affection,
of common inhumanity, and of impiety in rendering impossible of
performance the multifarious church duties Mrs. Bishop had invented and
assumed as so many particularly shining virtues. Orde soon discovered
that Carroll went out in society very little for the simple reason that
she could never give an unqualified acceptance to an invitation. At the
last moment, when she had donned her street wraps and the carriage was
at the door, she was liable to be called back, either to assist at some
religious function, which, by its sacred character, was supposed to have
precedence over everything, or to attend a nervous crisis, brought on
by some member of the household, or by mere untoward circumstances. The
girl always acquiesced most sweetly in these recurrent disappointments.
And the very fact that she accepted few invitations gave Orde many more
chances to see her, in spite of Mrs. Bishop's increasing exactions.
He did not realise this fact, however, but ground his teeth and clung
blind-eyed to his temper whenever the mother cut short his visits or
annulled his engagements on some petty excuse of her own. He could
almost believe these interruptions malicious, were it not that he soon
discovered Mrs. Bishop well disposed toward him personally whenever he
showed himself ready to meet her even quarter way on the topics that
interested her--the church and her health.

In this manner the week passed. Orde saw as much as he could of Miss
Bishop. The remainder of the time he spent walking the streets and
reading in the club rooms to which Gerald's courtesy had given him
access. Gerald himself seemed to be much occupied. Precisely at eleven
every morning, however, he appeared at the gymnasium for his practice;
and