looked at his despondent face. "Not another row?" she demanded
tersely.

Micky frowned.

"No--merely a sort of frigid silence this time," he said savagely,
then he laughed. "It's no use, June, I may as well throw up the
sponge. I seem to put my foot in it whatever I do."

June drew a pattern in the mud at her feet.

"Well, what have you done?" she asked. "Esther was all right this
morning, and quite pleased to be going with you. I certainly never
expected to see either of you till this afternoon. Where did you go?"

Micky shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, some little one-eyed place. We stopped at an inn and had some
coffee, and that seemed to finish it."

"What, the coffee?" asked June with a twinkle.

Micky turned away.

"If you're going to make a joke of everything----" he said with
dignity.

She laid her hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, old boy. But you do explain things so badly, you know. You
had coffee at the inn, yes--and then----"

"I went outside to start up the engine, and when I came back she
seemed to have utterly changed. She even looked different and she
hardly spoke all the way home."

"It must be your imagination."

He shook his head.

"No, it isn't; and when we got home she went indoors without even
saying good-bye--confound her!" he added in savage parenthesis.

"Oh, Micky!" said June reproachfully.

He coloured.

"I didn't mean that, but I'm so fed-up with everything----" He leaned
his elbow on the side of the car and looked away from her down the
road. "I think I'll get back to town this afternoon," he said after a
moment. "I was a fool to come at all."

June looked at him silently.

"Well, what are you thinking?" he asked.

She roused herself and answered briskly.

"I think you want your lunch, that's what I think, and I'm going to
take you back with me to have some. Aunt Mary is expecting you----"
Her queer eyes twinkled. "Micky, she's quite made up her mind that
you've come down here after me."

Micky laughed ruefully.

"It would be a dashed sight better for me if I had," he said.

He moved to the door of the car.

"Jump in, and I'll drive you back. I'm not sure that I shall stay to
lunch, though----" he added darkly.

"Oh yes, you will," June said. "And when you see Esther you'll find
that it was just imagination on your part--why, only coming down in
the train the other morning she agreed with me that you were a perfect
darling--she did, on my word of honour!"