ever have held the girl's fancy when Noel, the handsomest officer
in the district, had been so obviously at her feet.

She heaved a little sigh for Noel even while she said, smiling, "I have
just been hearing of your dramatic arrival yesterday, Dr. Wyndham. You
could scarcely have chosen a more thrilling moment."

He smiled also, with slight cynicism. "Yes, there were plenty of thrills
for all of us," he said. "Have you heard the latest?"

Daisy's eyes travelled from him to Olga, who stretched out her left
hand, bearing Max's ring upon it, and said, very sweetly and
impulsively: "Oh, Mrs. Musgrave, I was just going to tell you about it.
Please don't think me deceitful! It--it--it only happened last night."

"My darling child!" Daisy said. She took the outstretched, trembling
hand and folded it in a soft, warm clasp. Her eyes went back to Max,
whose expression became more ironical than ever under her scrutiny. It
was as if he observed and grimly ridiculed her jealousy on his brother's
behalf. And Daisy's resentment turned to a decided sense of hostility.
She discovered quite suddenly but also quite unmistakably that she was
not going to like this young man.

She was sure the green eyes under their shaggy red brows saw and mocked
her antipathy. There was even a touch of insolence about him as he
said: "I'm afraid it's taken your breath away, but it is not such a
sudden arrangement as it appears. Strange to say all women don't fall in
love with me at first sight. Olga, for instance, did quite the reverse,
didn't you, Olga?"

His eyes mocked Olga now openly and complacently. Daisy told herself
indignantly that she had never in her life witnessed anything so
disgustingly cold-blooded. He positively revolted her. She saw him as a
husband, selfish, supercilious, accepting with condescension his young
wife's eager devotion, and her congratulations died on her lips. For
Daisy was a woman with whom a man's homage counted for much. She had
been accustomed to it all her life and its absence was an offence
unpardonable. And then suddenly Olga overcame her shyness, and boldly
came to the rescue.

"Max, don't make Mrs. Musgrave think you a beast! It isn't fair to me.
He isn't a bit like this really," she added to Daisy. "It's all
affectation. Nick knows that."

Daisy laughed. The girlish speech helped her, if it did not remove her
doubts.

She gave her free hand to Max, saying, "I suppose we are none of us
ourselves to str