f it. To-morrow!" he added.

"Are you?" she asked languidly. "Where?"

"Petersburg--Moscow--Siberia--"

"Oh! The COLD places" She paused, then asked "Going alone?" He knelt on
the sofa she was sitting on and whispered almost into her ear:

"Unless someone--goes with me!"

"Naturally," replied Ethel, quite unmoved.

"Will--you--go?" And he waited breathlessly.

She thought a moment, looked at him again, and said quietly: "Chris! I
wish I'd been here when you called--instead of that--BRAT."

He turned away up again to the window-seat crying:

"Oh! This is unbearable."

Ethel said quite calmly: "Is it? Your wife all over again, eh?"

He came back to her: "No. I place you far above her, far above all
petty suspicions and carping narrownesses. I value you as a woman of
understanding."

"I am," she said frankly. "From what you've told me of your wife, SHE
must be too."

"Don't treat me like this!" he pleaded distractedly. "What shall I do?"
asked Ethel with wide open eyes, "apologise? That's odd. I've been
waiting for YOU to."

Brent turned away again with an impatient ejaculation. As he moved up
toward the windows Alaric came in behind him through the door. "Hello,
Brent," he called out heartily. "H'are ye?"

"Very well, thank you, Alaric," he said, controlling his surprise.

"Good. The dear wife well too?"

"Very."

"And the sweet child?"

"Yes."

"You must bring 'em along sometime. The mater would love to see them
and so would Ethel. Ethel loves babies, don't you, dear?" Without
waiting for Ethel to reply he hurried on: "And talkin' of BABIES, have
you seen MARGARET anywhere?"

Ethel nodded in the direction of the garden: "Out there!"

"Splendid. The mater wants her. We've got to have a family meetin'
about her and at once. Mater'll be here in a minute. Don't run away,
Brent," and Alaric hurried out through the windows into the garden.

Brent hurried over to Ethel:

"I'm at the hotel. I'll be there until morning. Send me a message, will
you? I'll wait up all night for one." He paused: "Will you?"

"Perhaps," replied Ethel. "I'm sorry if anything I've said or done has
hurt you. Believe me it is absolutely and entirely unnecessary."

"Don't say any more."

"Oh, if only--" he made an impulsive movement toward her. She checked
him just as her mother appeared at the top of the stairs. At the same
moment Bennett, the maid, came in through the door.

Mrs. Chichester greeted Brent courteously: