with Mrs Mallison also, so that she
herself should be left alone with Mary.

Cassandra wanted an opportunity of talking to Mary. Hitherto she had
been merely a figurehead, a dull, dun-coloured person who walked by her
mother's side, replied in monosyllables when she was directly addressed,
and apparently neither had, nor wished for, any existence of her own.
But now it appeared that Mary was in revolt. Cassandra was conscious of
a fellow-feeling.

She led the way down the sloping gardens, purposely increasing the
distance from her husband and his companions, talking lightly on
impersonal subjects until she could speak without fear of interruption.
Then she turned to Mary with the very winsome smile which she reserved
for occasions when she had special reason for wishing to please.

"Miss Mallison, I ran off with you, because I wanted an opportunity to
tell you quietly how enchanted I am at your good fortune! It always
delights me when nice things happen to women, and your nice thing is
going to open the door to so many more. Five hundred a year, and the
world before you, and no ties to keep you at home!--Mrs Mallison is so
strong and active that it seems absurd to think of her as requiring
help. I'm struggling with envy, for there is nothing at this moment
that I should like so much as to feel free to go where I choose, and do
what I choose, and even more than either, _not_ to do what I don't
choose! My husband hates change, and you see I have sworn to obey!...
Will you have to wait very long before you get your money? Lawyers are
such wretches for procrastinating. If you are like me, you will want to
start at once!"

"Yes," said Mary flatly, "I do. And I am independent of lawyers. My
godmother left instructions that I was to be given two hundred pounds at
once. They sent me the cheque this morning."

"What a pattern godmother! I should have adored that woman. I don't
need to know another thing about her. That tells it all. She had
imagination; and she had a heart."

"She knew mother," said Mary terribly. She was staring ahead in her
usual unseeing fashion, and was unconscious of her companion's
involuntary start of dismay. Never before had Cassandra heard a child
speak of a parent in such grimly eloquent tones, and the instinct of
centuries was shocked and distressed. She froze into herself, and when
she spoke again her voice had a different tone. A moment before she had
spoken as a friend, f