hile she changed into sport's
clothes, after which it would dash away with her, humming contentedly,
into the depths of the country. It was the magic-carpet which obeyed all
her desires. After war-days, with their petrol shortages and restricted
travel, it seemed more than ordinarily magic. It made emphatic as
nothing else could have done, the freedom and serenity which peace had
restored. The very fleetness of its obedience prompted her to urge Tabs
to take her farther and ever farther afield. There were evenings when
they dined within sight of the sea beneath the red roofs of Rye and
started back for London across the Sussex downs, driving straight into
the eye of the sunset. There were afternoons when they drifted over the
Chiltern hills to where the spires and domes of Oxford rise, placid as
masts of a sunken ship in an encroaching sea of greenness.

But it was most frequently nearing midnight when the quiet of the
secluded Court was wakened by the merry buzzing of the engine. At first
it would come from far away, drowsily like the song of a belated bee.
Then it would gather in volume and grow more lively, till it panted
round the little village-green and quavered into silence in front of
Maisie's door. Porter, with the gold light of the hall behind her, would
always be there on the threshold to receive her mistress. It was
difficult to guess what Porter thought. There were impromptu jaunts to
theaters and dances. Porter had seen many gay beginnings and tearful
endings. Her face was immobile and respectful at whatever hour he
called.

It was a curious friendship that had developed between them--a
friendship which lived from hand to mouth, which had the appearance of
being more than a friendship, in which nothing was premeditated. Nothing
could be premeditated so far as he was concerned. Terry had first call
on all his leisure--not that she availed herself of it very often;
nevertheless, he held himself in readiness to break every engagement
for her. Maisie was his consolation prize when Terry had failed. Maisie
was not deceived as to the spare-man place that she held in his
affections. She was painfully aware that at any moment their friendship
might end as abruptly as it had started. On either side it was based on
a common need for kindness, a common tenderness and a common desire for
protection from loneliness. In a sense they were each a substitute for
something postponed and more satisfying. While he was making