"Except your duty to yourself; you could not have had time to take
any dinner at home. I shall have you a servants' hall supper in ten
minutes."

"Please get nothing for me. I had a capital sort of dinner at home. But
I should dearly like a cup of tea."

"It will be ready for you the moment you return from taking off your
hat. I'll go up with you to your room; Mr. Courtland knows that even I
make myself at home in this house. He will pardon us."

"I mustn't keep the fly waiting for my portmanteau," said Mr. Courtland.
"If you will allow me, I shall look to it now, and say good-night."

"What! Oh, you mustn't think of running off in this way," said Ella.
"What reason had you for returning at all if you run off at this hour?"

"It is getting quite late. I mustn't keep the good people of the Old
Bell up on my account," said he. "Besides, a man represents a certain
inharmonious element upon such an occasion as this. Miss Ayrton returned
expecting to be with you alone. I know the disabilities of a man quite
well. Yes, I must say good-night."

"Nonsense! Pray talk to him, Phyllis," cried Ella. "You may make him
amenable to reason."

But Phyllis stood mute with her hand on the handle of the door; she only
smiled, and there is neither reason nor argument in a smile.

"Good-night!" said he.

"Oh, well, if you really have nothing to say to either of us,--to either
Phyllis or me,--you had better go, I suppose," said Ella, giving him
her hand, but she did not look at him in the face while his hand was
touching hers.

Curiously enough, neither did Phyllis look at him as was her wont.

And so he left them that night.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

GIVE HIM BACK TO ME--GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!

They seemed to have been parted for months instead of hours, so much
had they to say to each other, and so rapidly did they say it.
Rapidly?--feverishly rather. Phyllis had only to remove her hat and
smooth her hair at places, disordering it at others, in order to be all
right; but half an hour had gone by before they went downstairs, arm
in arm, after the manner of girls who have been talking feverishly and
kissing every now and again.

It was madness for Phyllis to think of tea at that hour of the night,
Ella declared; but she knew Phyllis' fancies in the past--she knew that
what would set other girls' nerves in motion, would only have the effect
of soothing hers. So Phyllis drank her tea and ate her cake in the
drawing room, and Ella la