y--that it was connected with her
youth, with a dimple, with the incredibly soft down on her cheek, with the
arch softness of her glance, with a gesture of the hand, with a turn of the
shoulder, with a pleat of the skirt.... Anyhow, she possessed it, and to
possess it was to wield it. It transformed her into a delicious tyrant, but
a tyrant; it inspired her with exquisite cruelty, but cruelty. Her thoughts
might have been summed up in eight words:

"Pooh! He has suffered. Well, he must suffer."

Ah! But she meant to be very kind to him. He was so reliable, so adorable,
and so dependent. She had genuine affection for him. And he was at once a
rock and a cushion.

"Isn't it going splendidly--splendidly, Mr. Gilman?" exclaimed Miss Ingate
in her enthusiasm.

"Apparently," said Mr. Gilman, with comfort in his voice.

At that moment the musical critic with large, dark Eastern eyes, whom
Audrey had met at the Foas', strolled nonchalantly by, and, perceiving Miss
Ingate, described a huge and perfect curve in the air with his glossy silk
hat, which had been tipped at the back of his head. Mr. Gilman had come
close to Audrey.

"The Foas started down with me," said Mr. Gilman mildly. "But they always
meet such crowds of acquaintances at these affairs that they seldom get
anywhere. Hortense would not leave the box. She never will."

"Oh! I'm so glad I've seen you," Audrey began excitedly, but with
simplicity and compelling sweetness. "You've no idea how sorry I am about
this afternoon! I'm frightfully sorry, really! But I was so upset. I
didn't know what to do. You know how anxious everybody was about Musa for
to-night. He's the pet of the Quarter, and, of course, I belong to the
Quarter. At least--I did. I thought he might be ill, or something.
However, it was all right in the end. I was looking forward tremendously to
that drive. Are you going to forgive me?"

"Please, please!" he eagerly entreated, with a faint blush. "Of course, I
quite understand. There's nothing whatever to forgive."

"Oh! but there is," she insisted. "Only you're so good-natured."

She was being magnanimous. She was pretending that she had no mysterious
power. But her motive was quite pure. If he was good-natured, so was she.
She honestly wanted to recompense him, and to recompense him richly. And
she did. Her demeanour was enchanting in its ingenuous flattery. She felt
happy despite all her anxieties, for he was living up to her ideal of him.
S