o do, Ingram? how am I to find her? Good God! don't you understand
what I tell you? And now it is past midnight, and my poor girl may be
wandering about the streets!"

He was walking up and down the room, paying almost no attention, in his
excitement, to the small, sallow-faced man who stood quite quiet, a
trifle afraid, perhaps, but with his heart full of a blaze of anger.

"She has gone away from your house?" he said slowly. "What made her do
that?"

"I did," said Lavender in a hurried way. "I have acted like a brute to
her--that is true enough. You needn't say anything to me, Ingram: I feel
myself far more guilty than anything you could say. You may heap
reproaches on me afterward, but tell me. Ingram, what am I to do? You
know what a proud spirit she has: who can tell what she might do? She
wouldn't go home--she would be too proud: she may have gone and drowned
herself."

"If you don't control yourself and tell me what has happened, how am I
to help you?" said Ingram stiffly, and yet disposed somehow--perhaps for
the sake of Sheila, perhaps because he saw that the young man's
self-embarrassment and distress were genuine enough--not to be too rough
with him.

"Well, you know, Mairi--" said Lavender, still walking up and down the
room in an excited way. "Sheila had got the girl up here without telling
me, some friends of mine were coming home to luncheon, we had some
disagreement about Mairi being present, and then Sheila said something
about not remaining in the house if Mairi did not: something of that
sort. I don't know what it was, but I know it was all my fault, and if
she has been driven from the house, I did it: that is true enough. And
where do you think she has gone, Ingram? If I could only see her for
three minutes I would explain everything: I would tell her how sorry I
am for everything that has happened, and she would see, when she went
back, how everything would be right again. I had no idea she would go
away. It was mere peevishness that made me object to Mairi meeting those
people; and I had no idea that Sheila would take it so much to heart.
Now tell me what you think should be done, Ingram. All I want is to see
her just for three minutes to tell her it was all a mistake, and that
she will never have to fear anything like that again."

Ingram heard him out, and said with some precision, "Do you mean to say
that you fancy all this trouble is to be got over that way? Do you know
so little of Shei