detect it, for its gables might have been part of
wood or hillside. It was of stone, and built in many periods and in many
styles which time had subtly blended so that it seemed a perfect thing
without beginning, as long descended as the folds of downs which
sheltered it. The austere Tudor front, the Restoration wing, the offices
built under Queen Anne, the library added in the days of the Georges,
had by some alchemy become one. Peace and long memories were in every
line of it, and that air of a home which belongs only to places that
have been loved for generations. It breathed ease and comfort, but yet
had a tonic vigour in it, for while it stood knee-deep in the green
valley its head was fanned by moorland winds.

Jean held her breath as she saw it. It seemed to her the most perfect
thing that could be imagined.

She walked in shyly, winged like Mercury, to be greeted respectfully by
a row of servants. Jean shook hands with each one, smiling at them with
her "doggy" eyes, wishing all the time for Mrs. M'Cosh, who was not
specially respectful, but always homely and humorous.

Tea was ready in a small panelled room with a view of the lawns and the
river.

"I asked them to put it here," Lord Bidborough said. "I thought you
might like to have this for your own sitting-room. It's just a little
like the room at The Rigs."

"Oh, Biddy, it is. I saw it when I came in. May I really have it for my
own? It feels as if people had been happy in it. It has a welcoming air.
And what a gorgeous tea!" She sat down at the table and pulled off her
gloves. "Isn't life frightfully well arranged? Every day is so full of
so many different things, and meals are such a comfort. No, I'm not
greedy, but what I mean is that it would be just a little 'stawsome' if
you had nothing to do but _love_ all the time."

"I'm Scots, partly, but I'm not so Scots as all that. What does
'stawsome' mean exactly?"

"It means," Jean began, and hesitated--"I'm afraid it means--sickening."

Her husband laughed as he sat down beside her.

"I'm willing to believe that you mean to be more complimentary than you
sound. I'm very certain you would never let love-making become
'stawsome.' ... There are hot things in that dish--or would you rather
have a sandwich? This is the first time we've ever had tea alone, Jean."

"I know. Isn't it heavenly to think that we shall be together now all
the rest of our lives? Biddy, I was thinking ... if--if ever we have a