he seemed to shrink from meeting her mother, but he
may write and try--" Claire drew herself up on the point of betraying
that borrowing of money which was the most shameful feature of the
fraud, but Mrs Fanshawe was too much absorbed in her own schemes to
notice the omission. She had seen a way of getting rid of an unwelcome
guest, and was all keenness to turn it to account.

"He is sure to try to see her again while he is at large. He will
probably urge her to marry him at once. You should certainly not defer
your visit if it is to be of any use. How dreadful _it_ would be if she
were to marry him under an assumed name! You mustn't let us interfere
with your arrangement, my dear. You only promised me ten days, so I
can't grumble if you run away, and for the short time that Erskine is at
home, there are so many friends to fit in... You understand, I am sure,
that I am thinking of your own convenience!"

"I understand perfectly, thank you!" Claire replied, her head in the
air, the indignant colour dying her cheeks with red. Mrs Fanshawe's
arguments in favour of haste might be wise enough, but her personal
desire was all too plainly betrayed. And she pointedly ignored the fact
that the proposed interview need not have interrupted Claire's visit,
since it and the journey involved could easily have been accomplished in
the course of a day. "I understand perfectly, thank you. I will go
upstairs and pack now. Perhaps there is a train I could catch before
lunch?"

"The twelve-thirty. That will give you the afternoon in town. I'll
order a fly from the inn. I'm _so_ sorry for you, dear! Most nerve-
racking to have to break bad news, but you'll feel happier when it's
done. Perhaps you could take the poor thing with you to that sweet
little farm!"

Not for the world would Claire have spent the next hour in Mrs
Fanshawe's company. She hurried to her room, and placing her watch on
the dressing-table, so timed her packing that it should not be completed
a moment before the lumbering country "fly" drove up to the door. Then,
fully dressed, she descended the staircase, and held out a gloved hand
to her hostess, apparently unconscious of an offered kiss.

It was some slight consolation to note the change of bearing which had
come over Mrs Fanshawe during the last hour, and to realise that the
success of her scheme had not brought much satisfaction. She was
nervous, she was more than nervous, she was afraid! T