anyhow, Charles," she said, very gently, "I have got the tickets,
and it is our anniversary."

"Even if I had remembered about it," was the answer, spoken with a
quickly assumed air of abstraction, as business returned to his
thoughts, "I couldn't have gone to-night. You see, I have a conference
on--very important. It means a great deal. Morton and Carrington are
coming around to see me.... I can't bother you with details, but you
know it must be important. I can't get out of it, anyhow."

"But, Charles--" The voice was very tender, very persuasive. It moved
Hamilton to contrition. The pleading accents could never have been
resisted by any lover; but by a husband--ah, there is a tremendous
difference, as most wives learn. Hamilton merely elaborated his defense
against yielding to his wife's wishes.

"I tell you, Cicily, it's a matter of business--business of the biggest
importance to me. You're my wife, dear: you don't want to interfere with
my business, do you? Why, I'll leave it to Aunt Emma here, if I'm not
right." He faced about toward Mrs. Delancy, with an air of triumphant
appeal. "Come, Aunt Emma, what would you and Uncle Jim do in such a
case?"

"I think Cicily already knows the answer to that question," was the
neutral reply, with which Hamilton was wholly satisfied.

Now, indeed, the girl abandoned her last faint hope. The magnitude of
the failure shook her to the deeps of her being. She felt her muscles
relax, even as her spirit seemed to grow limp within her. She was in an
agony of fear lest she collapse there under the eyes of the man who had
so spurned her adoration. Under the spur of that fear, she moved forward
a little way toward the window, the while Hamilton chatted on amiably
with Mrs. Delancy, continuing to justify the position he had taken. As
he paused finally, Cicily had regained sufficient self-control to speak
in a voice that told him nothing beyond the bare significance of the
words themselves.

"Oh, of course, you're right, Charles. Don't bother any more about it.
Attend to your conference, and be happy. There will be plenty more
anniversaries!"

CHAPTER IV

The preliminary conference with Morton and Carrington, which had so
fatally interfered with Cicily's anniversary plans, proved totally
unsatisfactory from the standpoint of Charles Hamilton. As a matter of
fact, a crisis had arisen in his business affairs. He was threatened
with disaster, and as yet he was unable to see