o her and to her husband by their son. The telegram was followed by a
long loving letter from the mother, inviting Rose to stay with them.

Mrs. Otway would not acknowledge even to herself how relieved she felt.
She had been afraid that General Blake would regard his son's engagement
as absurd, and she was surprised, knowing him slightly and not much
liking what little she knew of him, at the kindness and warmth with
which he wrote to her.

"Under ordinary circumstances I should not have approved of my son's
making so early a marriage, but everything is now changed. And though I
suppose it would not be reasonable to expect such a thing, I should be,
for my part, quite content were they to be married during the leave to
which I understand he will shortly be entitled."

But on reading these words, Mrs. Otway had shaken her head very
decidedly. What an odd, _very_ odd, man General Blake must be! She felt
sure that neither Jervis nor Rose would think of doing such a thing. It
was, however, quite natural that Jervis's parents should wish to have
Rose on a visit; and of course Rose must go soon, and try to make good
friends with them both--not an over-easy matter, for they were very
different and, as Mrs. Otway knew, not on really happy terms the one
with the other.

There was some little discussion as to who in Witanbury should be told
of Rose's engagement. It seemed hopeless to keep the affair a secret.
For one thing, the officials at the Post Office knew--they had almost
shown it by their funny, smiling manner when Rose had gone in to send
her answer to Lady Blake's telegram. But the first to be informed
officially, so to speak, must of course be the Dean and the Robeys.

Dr. Haworth had aged sadly during the last few weeks. Edith was going to
nurse in a French hospital, and she and her mother had gone away for a
little change first. And so, as was natural, the Dean came very often to
the Trellis House; and though, when he was told of Rose's engagement, he
sighed wearily, still he was most kind and sympathetic--though he could
not help saying, in an aside to Mrs. Otway, "I should never have thought
Rose would become the heroine of a Romeo and Juliet affair! They both
seem to me so very young. Luckily there's no hurry. It looks as if this
war was going to be a long, long war----" and he had shaken his head
very mournfully.

Poor Dr. Haworth! An imprudent passage uttered in the first sermon he
had delivered after the d