now this is my opportunity; I will
have him marry Connie Wilder.'

'You might have asked my permission.'

'Oh, well, Jerry's a dear; next to Harry you couldn't find any one nicer.
But I knew the only way was not to let him suspect. I thought, you see,
that you were still staying at the hotel; I didn't know you'd taken a
villa, so I planned for him to come to meet us three days before we
really expected to get here. I thought in the meantime, being stranded
together in a little hotel, you'd surely get acquainted--Jerry's very
resourceful that way--and with all this beautiful Italian scenery about,
and nothing to do----'

'I see!' Constance's tone was somewhat dry.

'But nothing happened as I had planned. You weren't here, he was bored to
death, and I was detained longer than I meant. We got the most pathetic
letter from him the second day, saying there was no one but the head
waiter to talk to, nothing but an india-rubber tree to look at, and if we
didn't come immediately, he'd do the Dolomites without us. Then finally,
just as we were on the point of leaving, he sent a telegram saying:
"Don't come. Am climbing mountains. Stay there till you hear from me."
But being already packed, we came, and this is what we find----' She
waved her hand over the empty grove.

'It serves you right; you shouldn't deceive people.'

'It was for Jerry's good--and yours too. But what shall we do? He doesn't
know we're here and he has left no address.'

'Come out to the villa and visit us till he comes to search for you.'

Constance could hear her aunt delivering the same invitation to Mrs.
Eustace, and she perforce repeated it, though with the inward hope that
it would be declined. She had no wish that Tony and her father should
return from their trip to find a family party assembled on the terrace.
The adventure was not to end with any such tame climax as that. To her
relief they did decline, at least for the night; they could make no
definite plans until they had heard from Jerry. Constance rose upon this
assurance and precipitated their leave-takings; she did not wish her aunt
to press them to change their minds.

'Good-bye, Mrs. Eustace, good-bye, Nannie; we'll be around to-night to
take you sailing--provided there's any breeze.'

She nodded and dragged her aunt off; but as they were entering the arbour
a plan for further complicating matters popped into her head, and she
turned back to call--

'You are coming to the villa