ttenly!" in frank response, and pulled back the loose lawn sleeve to
leave her wrist more fully exposed.

She watched with keen interest while he rubbed upward with gentle
pressure, increased gradually as she showed no sign of pain or
shrinking.

"That's the way--upward, always upward. Follow the line of the blood
vessels--you see!" He traced a fine blue line with the end of a big
finger, while the groom rolled curious eyes from behind, rehearsing a
dramatic recital in the servants' hall. "After that has been done once
or twice, tackle the joint itself, and you'll be astonished at the
effect. Is there anyone in the house who can do it for you? You could
do a good deal for yourself, you know, if the worst comes to the worst.
Like this--give me the left hand, and I'll show you how to work the
joint itself!"

Cornelia edged round in her seat to adopt a more convenient position,
and laid her hand in his with the simplicity of a child. Such a slip of
a thing it looked lying on his big brown paw, soft and white, with
carefully manicured nails--almond-shaped, transparent, faintly pink.
Guest loved a pretty hand, and held theories of its value as an exponent
of character. The future Mrs Guest might or might not be handsome, as
Fate decreed, but it was inconceivable that he could ever marry a woman
with red fingers, or bitten nails. A pure artistic delight possessed
him at the sight of Cornelia's little hand, but the soft confident touch
of it against his palm brought with it a thrill of something deeper. He
gave his demonstration with a touch of awkwardness, but the girl herself
was as placidly self-possessed as if he had been a maiden aunt buttoning
up a glove. She put question after question, requested him to "show her
again," and gripped his own wrist to prove that she had mastered the
desired movements. A more business-like manner it was impossible to
imagine. Guest doubted if another girl of his acquaintance would have
shown such an utter absence of self-consciousness. It was admirable, of
course, quite admirable, but-- He took up the reins with a little rankle
of disappointment mingling with his approval.

Barely a mile now remained to be traversed, as the horse was trotting up
the long hill into Norton; at the top was the High Road, at the end of
the High Road the gates leading into the park. If anything remained to
be said, it would be wise to say it now, but Cornelia seemed to have
nothing to say. Sh