e contingencies
'to which the semi-public life of a popular novelist is
always subject.

"Really, you are--much too good. I can't imagine--if
the case had been reversed--"

Mr. Jasper found himself, accustomed as he was to the
exigencies of London drawing-rooms, horribly in want of
words. And in the bow with which he further defined his
discomfort he added to it by dropping the bit of stephanotis
which he wore in his buttonhole.

Elfrida sprang to pick it up. "Oh," she cried, "broken at
the stem; see, you cannot wear it anymore. May I keep it?"

A deadly silence had been widening around them, and now
the daughter of the historian of the Semitic races broke
it by twittering into a laugh behind her fan. Janet met
Kendal's eyes instinctively; he was burning red, and his
manner was eloquent of his helplessness. Angry with
herself for having waited, so long, Janet joined Elfrida
just as the twitter made itself heard, and Mr. Jasper's
face began to stiffen with indignation.

"Ah, Miss Cardiff," he said with relief, "how do you do!
The rooms are rather warm, don't you think?"

"I want to introduce you to my Am--my very great friend,
Miss Bell, Mr. Jasper," Janet said quickly, as the buzz
of conversation began again about them.

Elfrida turned to her reproachfully. "If I had known it
was at all possible that you would do _that_," she said,
"I might have--waited. But I did not know."

People were still looking at them with curious
attentiveness; they were awkwardly solitary. Kendal in
his corner was asking himself how she could have struck
such a false note--and of all people Jasper, whose polished
work held no trace of his personality, whose pleasure it
was to have no public entity whatever. As Jasper moved
off almost immediately, Kendal saw his tacit discomfort
in the set of his shoulders, and so sure was he of
Elfrida's embarrassment that he himself slipped away to
avoid adding to it.

"It was all wrong and ridiculous, and she was mad to do
it," thought Janet as she drove home with her father;
"but why need John Kendal have blushed for her?"

CHAPTER XVII.

"I am sure you are enjoying it," said Elfrida.

"Yes," Miss Kimpsey returned. "It's a great treat--it's
a _very_ great treat. Everything surpasses my expectations,
everything is older and blacker and more interesting than
I looked for. And I must say we're getting over a great
deal in the time. Yesterday afternoon we did the entire
Tower. It _d