er spoke to him, I suppose?" asked May.

"I never had that honour. Glimpses only of the great man have been
vouchsafed to me. Once seen, he is never forgotten. To-day he looks
alarmingly apoplectic."

"But really, Mr. Lashmar," said the girl, settling herself in her
corner, "I do feel ashamed to have given you this useless journey--and
just when you are so busy."

She was pretty in her travelling costume. Could Lashmar have compared
her appearance to-day with that she had presented on her first arrival
at Rivenoak, he would have marvelled at the change wrought by luxurious
circumstance. No eye-glasses now; no little paper-cutter hanging at her
girdle. Called upon to resume the Northampton garb, May would have been
horrified. The brown shoes which she had purchased expressly for her
visit to Lady Ogram would have seemed impossibly large and coarse.
Exquisite were her lavender gloves. Such details of attire, formerly
regarded with some contempt, had now an importance for her. She had
come to regard dress as one of the serious concerns of life.

"I went to Pont Street this afternoon," said Dyce, "with a wish that by
some chance I might see you alone. It was Very unlikely, but it has
come to pass."

May exhibited a slight surprise, and by an imperceptible movement put a
little more dignity into her attitude.

"What did you wish to speak about?" she asked, with an air meant to be
strikingly natural.

"Don't let me startle you; it was about my engagement to Miss Bride."

This time, Dyce felt he could not be mistaken. She was confused; he saw
colour mounting on her neck; the surprise she tried to convey in
smiling was too obviously feigned.

"Isn't that rather an odd subject of conversation?"

"It seems so, but wait till you have heard what I have to say. It is on
Miss Bride's account that I speak. You are her friend, and I feel that,
in mere justice to her, I ought to tell you a very strange story. It is
greatly to her honour. She couldn't tell you the truth herself, and of
course you will not be able to let her know that you know it. But it
will save you from possible misunderstanding of her, enable you to
judge her fairly."

May hardly disguised her curiosity. It absorbed her self-consciousness,
and she looked the speaker straight in the face.

"To come to the point at once," pursued Lashmar, "our engagement is not
a genuine one. Miss Bride has not really consented to marry me. She
only consents to have it th