Of course. You must," Michael urged.

"Pauline will be more jealous of you than ever, if I do."

"For one night," Michael pleaded. "I must see her. And you must meet
her. Everyone has been so rotten about her, and, Guy, you'll appreciate
her. I won't bore you by describing her. You must meet her to-morrow.
And the rooms in Ararat House. By Jove, you'll think them wonderful. You
should see her in candlelight among the mirrors. Pauline won't mind your
coming away with me for a night. We'll stay at Cheyne Walk."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I'm rather hard up just now...."

"Oh, what rot! This is my expedition. And when you've seen her, you must
talk to my mother about her. She's so prejudiced against Lily. You will
come, won't you?"

Guy nodded a promise, and Michael went off to bed on the excitement of
to-morrow's joy.

Guy would not start before the afternoon, and Michael spent the morning
under a willow beside the river. It was good to lie staring up at the
boughs, and know that every fleecy cloud going by was a cloud nearer to
his seeing Lily again.

Michael and Guy arrived at Paddington about five o'clock.

"We'll go straight round from here and surprise her," Michael said,
laughing with excitement, as they got into a taxi. "She'll have had a
letter from me this morning, in which I was lamenting not seeing her for
six weeks. My gad, supposing she isn't in! Oh, well, we can wait. You'll
love the room, and we'll all three sit out in the garden to-night, and
you'll tell me as we walk home to Chelsea what you think of her. Guy
you've absolutely got to like her. And if you don't ... oh, but you
will. It isn't everybody who can appreciate beauty like hers. And
there's an extraordinary subtlety about her. Of course, she isn't at all
subtle. She's simple. In fact, that's one of the things Stella has got
against her. What I call simplicity and absence of training for effect
Stella calls stupidity. My own belief is that you'll be quite content to
look at her and not care whether she talks or not. I tell you, she's
like a Piero della Francesca angel. Cheer up, Guy. Why are you looking
so depressed?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Guy. "I'm thinking what a lucky chap you are.
What's a little family opposition when you know you're going to be able
to do what you want? Who can stop you? You're independent, and you're in
love."

"Of course they can't stop me!" Michael cried, jumping up and down on
the cushions of the taxi i