d had laid the
carnations on the bark by her side.

"I remember the picture," she said in a musing tone. "Two nuns were
waiting outside a convent door. One of these days I think I shall be a
nun."

"No, you won't," he answered in a masterful voice. "Will you walk a
little way along the bank? There's a picturesque island farther on, a
wonderful place for wild-flowers."

She rose. And the bunch of carnations was left forgotten on the trunk of
the tree.

CHAPTER XV

_WAYNE'S COURT_

"Love in my bosom, like a bee,
Doth suck his sweet;
Now with his wings he plays with me,
Now with his feet."
--ROSALIND'S MADRIGAL.

Mrs. Lennard was a pleasant old lady, with a sunny temper and a strong
will. She always had her own way, and decided all doubtful matters with
a charming imperiousness which offended nobody.

Elsie had been accustomed to look up to the rector's wife from her
earliest days. To the rectory she had always carried her burdens and
secret sorrows, and Mrs. Lennard's sympathy had sweetened many bitter
hours.

The golden light was streaming into Elsie's room as she stood before the
glass, dressing for the dinner-party at the Court. It was a quaint room,
with a chest-of-drawers of Queen Anne's time, and slender-legged tables
and chairs, black with age, and Elsie, in a soft, trailing gown of
cream-coloured silk, looked almost too modern for her surroundings.

After that stroll by the river on Wednesday morning she had schooled
herself to take life in a calm fashion.

On Thursday she had called at The Cedars, and had been received with the
utmost cordiality. Jamie had seized upon her with the freedom of long
acquaintance, insisting that she should inspect the stock of toys he had
brought from London. As a mark of special favour he dropped a tin
soldier into her cup of tea, and presented her with a loathly green
lizard out of his Noah's Ark.

On Friday he came to Willow Farm and gladdened the hearts of the two old
ladies. Francis Ryan's enjoyment was less noticeable; he found the
little fellow a decided bore. There was not a single quiet minute with
Miss Kilner; she was devoted to the boy, and would not let him go out of
her sight. Arnold Wayne, who dropped in unexpectedly, behaved in quite a
fatherly manner to Jamie, and did not hesitate to rebuke him when his
gambols went too far.

Looking back on the past four days, Elsie acknowledged to herself that