e you came here, the first time--and since
then you have been here almost every day. Johnny, aren't you wasting
your time?" She looked at him with sweet seriousness.

"I am wasting my time, Joan, when--when I am not with you!" he said, and
his voice shook with sudden feeling, and into his face there came a wave
of colour. "To be near you, to see you--" He paused.

Down the garden pathway came a trim maidservant, who could never guess
how John Everard hated her for at least one moment of her life.

"A gentleman in the drawing-room, miss, to see you," the girl said.

"A gentleman to see me? Who?"

"He would not give a name, miss. He said you might not recognise it. He
wishes to see you on business." Joan frowned. Who could it be? Yet it
was someone waiting, someone here.

"I shall not be long," she said to Johnny, and perhaps was glad of the
excuse to leave him.

"I will wait till you come back, Joan."

She smiled and nodded, and hastened to the house and the drawing-room,
and, opening the door, went in to find herself face to face with Philip
Slotman.

* * * * *

Philip Slotman, of all living people! She stared at him in amaze, almost
doubting the evidence of her sight. What did he here? How dared he come
here and thrust himself on her notice? How dared he send that lying
message by the maid, that she might not recognise his name?

"You've got a nice place here, Joan," he said with easy familiarity.
"Things have looked up a bit for you, eh? I notice you haven't said you
are glad to see me. Aren't you going to shake hands?"

"Explain," she said quietly, "what you mean by coming here."

If she had given way to senseless rage, and had demanded how he
dared--and so forth, he would have smiled with amusement; but the cool
deliberation of her, the quiet scorn in her eyes, the lack of passion,
made him nervous and a little uncomfortable.

"I came here to see you--what else, Joan?"

"Uninvited," she said. "You have taken a liberty--"

"Oh, you!" he shouted suddenly. "You're a fine one to ride the high
horse with me! Who the dickens are you to give yourself airs? You can
stow that, do you hear?" His eyes flashed unpleasantly. "You can stow
that kind of talk with me!"

"You came here believing, I suppose, that I was practically friendless.
You knew that I had no relatives, especially men relatives, so you
thought you would come to continue your annoyance of me. Would you mind
com