had had the news from
Scotland, where a nephew of his had actually seen and spoken to some
Russian officers, the advance guard, as it were, of these legions!

Mrs. Guthrie was glad this war had come after the London season was
over. Her great pleasure each day was reading the _Morning Post_, and
during this last week that paper had been a great deal too full of war
news. It had annoyed her, too, to learn that the Cowes Week had been
given up. Of course no German yachts could have competed, but apart from
that, why should not the regatta have gone on just the same? It looked
as if the King (God bless him!) was taking this war too seriously. Queen
Victoria and King Edward would have had a better sense of proportion.
The old lady kept these thoughts to herself, but they were there, all
the same.

Yes, it was a great pity Cowes had been given up. Mrs. Guthrie missed
the lists of names--names which in the majority of cases, unless of
course they were those of Americans and of uninteresting _nouveaux
riches_, recalled pleasant associations, and that even if the people
actually mentioned were only the children or the grandchildren of those
whom she had known in the delightful days when she had kept house for
her widower brother in Mayfair.

As she turned her old head stiffly round, and saw how charming her
well-kept lawn and belt of high trees beyond looked to-day, she felt
sorry that she had not written one or two little notes and bidden some
of her Witanbury Close acquaintances come out and have tea. The Dean,
for instance, might have come. Even Mrs. Otway, Alick's friend, would
have been better than nobody!

Considering that she did not like her, it was curious that Mrs. Guthrie
was one of the very few women in that neighbourhood who realised that
the mistress of the Trellis House was an exceptionally attractive
person. More than once--in fact almost always after chance had brought
the two ladies in contact, Mrs. Guthrie would observe briskly to her
son, "It's rather odd that your Mrs. Otway has never married again!" And
it always amused her to notice that it irritated Alick to hear her say
this. It was the Scotch bit of him which made Alick at once so shy and
so sentimental where women were concerned.

Mrs. Guthrie had no idea how very often her son went to the Trellis
House, but even had she known it she would only have smiled satirically.
She had but little sympathy with platonic friendships, and she
recognised, w