s Alicia got to do with it?"

"You mustn't chaff me, Lady Eynesford. It's too serious," pleaded Coxon,
in self-complacent tones.

"What does the man mean?" thought Lady Eynesford. Then a glance at his
face somehow brought sudden illumination, and the illumination brought
such a shock that Lady Eynesford was startled into vulgar directness of
speech.

"Good gracious! Surely it _is_ Eleanor you come after?" she exclaimed.

"Miss Scaife! What made you think that? Surely you've seen that it's
Miss Derosne who----"

"Mr. Coxon!"

At the tone in which Lady Eynesford seemed to hurl his own name in his
teeth, Coxon's rosy illusion vanished. He sat in gloomy silence,
twisting his hat in his hand and waiting for Lady Eynesford to speak
again.

"You astonish me!" she said at last. "I made sure it was Eleanor."

"Why is it astonishing?" he asked. "Surely Miss Derosne's attractions
are sufficient to----?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I am indeed. You must believe me, Mr. Coxon. If I had
foreseen this I--I would have guarded against it. But now--indeed, I'm
so sorry."

Lady Eynesford's sorrowful sympathy failed to touch Coxon's softer
feelings.

"What is there to be sorry about?" he demanded, almost roughly.

"Why this--this unfortunate misunderstanding. Of course I thought it was
Eleanor; you seemed so suited to one another."

Coxon, ignoring the natural affinity suggested, remarked,

"There's no harm done that I can see, except that I hoped I had you on
my side. Perhaps I shall have still."

Sympathy had failed. Lady Eynesford, recognising that, felt she had a
duty to perform.

"I dare say I am to blame," she said, "but I never thought of such a
thing. Really, Mr. Coxon, you must see that I wasn't likely to think of
it," and her tone conveyed an appeal to his calmer reason. She was quite
unconscious of giving any reasonable cause of offence.

"Why not?" he asked, the silky smoothness of his manner disappearing in
his surprise and wounded dignity.

"The--the--oh, if you don't see, I can't tell you."

"You appear to assume that attentions from me to your sister-in-law were
not to be expected."

"You do see that, don't you?"

"While attentions to your governess----"

"Miss Scaife is my friend and worthy of anybody's attentions,"
interposed Lady Eynesford quickly.

"But all the same, very different from Miss Derosne," sneered Coxon
sullenly, putting her thoughts into her mouth with a discrimination that
completed