n do for me is to pretend to support me
before the world."

"I won't, I won't, I won't! It's all wrong. She's all wrong. Her people
are all wrong. Why, even Alan remembers them as dreadful, and you know
how casual he is about people he doesn't like. He usually flings them
out of his mind at once."

"Oh, Alan's amazing in every way," said Michael. He longed to say that
he and Lily would go by the first train possible, but he dreaded so much
the effect of bringing her back to London without any definite place to
which she could go, that he was willing to leave her here for a few
days, if she would stay. He hated himself for doing this, but the
problems of marriage and Lily were growing unwieldy. He wished now that
he had asked his mother to come back, so that he could have taken Lily
to Cheyne Walk. It was stupid to let himself be caught unprepared like
this. After all, perhaps it would be a good thing to leave Lily and
Stella together for a bit. As he was going to marry her and as he could
not face the possibility of quarreling with Stella finally, it would be
better to pocket his pride.

Suddenly Stella caught hold of his arm.

"Look here," she said. "You absurd old Quixote, listen. I'm going to do
all in my power to stop your marrying Lily. But meanwhile go up to town
and leave her here. I promise to declare a truce of a fortnight, if
you'll promise me not to marry her until the middle of April. By a truce
I mean that I'll be charming to her and take no steps to influence her
to give you up. But after the fortnight it must be war, even if you win
in the end and marry her."

"Does that mean we should cease to be on speaking terms?"

"Oh, no, of course; as a matter of fact, if you marry her, I suppose we
shall all settle down together and be great friends, until she lands you
in the divorce court with half a dozen co-respondents. Then you'll come
and live with us at Hardingham, a confirmed cynic and the despair of all
the eligible young women in the neighborhood."

"I wish you wouldn't talk like that about Lily," said Michael, frowning.

"The truce has begun," Stella declared. "For a fortnight I'll be an
angel."

Just before dusk was falling, the gale died away, and Michael persuaded
Lily to come for a walk with him. Almost unconsciously he took her to
the wood where he and Stella had talked so angrily in the morning.
Chaffinches flashed their silver wings about them in the fading light.

"Lily, you look ador