ime in the most open way; now
they began to talk about caution and concealment, like the persecuted
lovers of old romance, who had powerful enemies, and were obliged to
manage their meetings so that they should not be suspected. They
decided not to speak to each other in public, and, consequently, when
they met in the street, they passed with such an elaborate parade of
ignoring each other, and yet with such evident enjoyment of the
position, that people began to wonder what on earth they were up to.
Disguises would have delighted them; but the fashions of the day did
not lend themselves much to disguise, unfortunately. There were no
masks, no sombreros, no cloaks; and all they could think of was false
whiskers for Alfred; but when he tried them, they altered him so
effectually that Dicksie said he could not bear him, and Beth would
not kiss him.

One evening after dinner, when Mrs. Caldwell was reading aloud to Beth
and Bernadine, there came a thundering knock at the front door, which
startled them all. The weather had been bad all day, and now the
shutters were closed, the rain beat against them with a chilly,
depressing effect, inexpressibly dreary. Instead of attending to the
reading, Beth had been listening to the footsteps of people passing in
the street, in the forlorn hope that among them she might distinguish
Alfred's. When the knock came they thought it was a runaway, but
Harriet opened the door all the same, and presently returned, smiling
archly, and holding aloft a beautiful bouquet.

"What's that?" said Mrs. Caldwell. "Give it to me."

Beth's heart stood still.

There was a card attached to the flowers, and Mrs. Caldwell read
aloud, "_Miss Caldwell, with respectful compliments._"

"Who brought this, Harriet?" she asked.

"No one, ma'am," Harriet replied. "It was 'itched on till the
knocker."

"Very strange," Mrs. Caldwell muttered suspiciously. "Beth, do you
know anything about it?"

"Is there no name on the card?" Beth asked diplomatically; and Mrs.
Caldwell looked at the card instead of into Beth's face, and
discovered nothing.

Raindrops sparkled on the flowers, their fragrance filled the room,
and their colours and forms and freshness were a joy to behold. "How
beautiful they are!" Mrs. Caldwell exclaimed.

"May I have them, mamma?" Beth put in quickly.

"Well, yes, I suppose you may," Mrs. Caldwell decided; "although I
must say I do not understand their being left in this way at all. Wh