s wearing a morning
coat, faultlessly pressed, and in its buttonhole bloomed a gardenia. He
carried a stick with a gold band around it, his spats were of a light
and wonderful tan, and in his hand, in place of the usual greenish-brown
veteran, he held a grey fedora of precisely the shape and shade worn by
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, on the occasion of that happiest
of events, his recent visit to our country.

"I learned from your chauffeur that you were at home," said Leofwin,
smiling graciously, "but I had no way of knowing that you were alone."

He had actually been spying on her! "Why didn't you call up one of the
maids?" replied Nancy with more asperity than was perhaps becoming in a
hostess.

"Delightful picture," laughed Leofwin, "but as a matter of fact you see
I don't know any of them, what?" and he nodded pleasantly.

Harry, who had progressed to the D scale at his second and latest
lesson, was going over it with all the ardour of first love, and
contributed a tinkly-winkly background which was vaguely disturbing. It
was not near enough, however, to be quite recognizable, and Leofwin
carried on without comment, supposing it to be a kind of funny clock, or
something.

"I called," he continued, "at this odd hour in the hope that I might
find out how you are after our recent attempt to improve the lower
classes." He drew his chair up nearer to Nancy as he spoke, and there
was a tenderness in his tone that alarmed her, particularly in the way
he emphasized "our."

"I am quite well, thank you."

"Oh, but I am glad to hear it," he said.

The fervour of his words was nonsensical, but his intention, alas, was
becoming clear.

"If you will forgive me," he continued, "I shall begin at once upon the
business at hand. We artists, you know, are sometimes accused of being
unbusinesslike. Goodness only knows, I am a mere child at stocks and
bonds and par and all those things, but the underlying essence of
business I rather fancy I have--that is, quickness of perception. Now I
quickly perceive that we are likely to be interrupted here at almost any
minute." He paused and looked about a little wildly. "I do wish we might
have a more secluded nook for our talk." Nancy, however, who was now
prepared for the worst, did not offer more seclusion and her lover
continued. "I wish we had some grotto where I could lead you. I would
have it on the Libyan shore. Overhead would be the azure sky. Before us,
stealing