said Mr. Falkirk. 'Don't you know, Miss Hazel, a man's
brows are not within his range of vision? and I deny that he
is responsible for them. Am I frowning now?'

'Not quite so portentously, sir.'

'Then you need not stand so particularly, need you? I wonder,
if I looked so fierce, how Rollo dared to offer you the
civility of a chair in my presence; but people are different.'

'But I cannot sit there,' she said, with a glance towards the
bringer of the chair, as she passed by its reposeful depths.
'Not now. If Mr. Rollo will make himself comfortable in his
own way, I will in mine.' And Hazel brought a foot cushion to
the couch and sat down there; a little turned away from the
third member of the party; who however did not change his
position.

'Is there business?' said Mr. Falkirk glancing from one to the
other.

The girl gave him a swift glance of wonder.

'You used to think it was business, sir, to know what had
become of me. Did you sleep well last night, Mr. Falkirk?'

'Why should I, any more than you?' said Mr. Falkirk in his old
fashion of growling. 'Day is the proper time for sleeping, in
the fashionable world.'

It made her restless--this keeping off the subject of which her
thoughts were full. Didn't he mean to ask any questions?

'Why should not I have slept, sir?--if you come to that. The
fashionable world was not to hold me beyond eleven.'

'So I understood, and endeavoured to stipulate,' said Mr.
Falkirk, 'but I am told you were so late in returning that you
would not come home, and preferred, somewhat inexplicably,
disturbing Miss Maryland to disturbing me.'

'Is that what you think?' she answered, simply. 'That I broke
my word? Mr. Falkirk, I began returning as you say, at a
quarter past eleven.'

'I never expected you to get off before that, my dear. Then
what was the matter?'

The girl hesitated a moment, and then one of her witch looks
flashed through in spite of everything.

'I fell into Charybdis, sir, that was all.'

'I do not remember any such place between here and
Merricksdale,' said Mr. Falkirk. 'Was it enchantment, my
dear?' But his face was less careless than his words. Hers
grew grave again at once; and, wasting no more time, Miss
Kennedy addressed herself to business.

'I had arranged it all with Miss Bird,' she said, 'on the way
there. She had a headache and was glad of an excuse to get
away early. It was "a small party," I found, when you were in
the house and the