nothing to do with him. It almost seemed as
though she had some personal feeling of dislike towards him. Indeed
Diana had accused her of it, only to be met with a quiet negative.

"No," she had replied serenely. "I don't dislike him. But I
disapprove of much that he does."

"He is rather an attractive person," Diana ventured tentatively.

Olga Lermontof shot a keen glance at her.

"Well, I advise you not to give him your friendship," she said,
"or"--sneeringly--"anything of greater value."

A sharp rat-tat at the door of her sitting-room recalled Diana's
wandering thoughts to the present. She threw a glance of half-comic
dismay at the state of her sitting-room--every available chair and
table seemed to be strewn with the contents of the trunks she was
unpacking--and then, with a resigned shrug of her shoulders, she
crossed to the door and threw it open. Bunty was standing outside.

"What is it?" Diana was beginning, when she caught sight of a pleasant,
ugly face appearing over little Miss Bunting's shoulder. "Oh, Jerry,
is it you?" she exclaimed delightedly.

"He insisted on coming up, Miss Quentin," said Bunty, "although I told
him you had only just arrived and would be in the middle of unpacking."

"I've got an important message to deliver," asserted Jerry, grinning,
and shaking both Diana's hands exuberantly.

"Oh, never mind the unpacking," cried Diana, beginning to bundle the
things off the tables and chairs back into one of the open trunks.
"Bunty darling, help me to clear a space, and then go and order tea for
two up here--and expense be blowed! Oh, and I'll put a match to the
fire--it's quite cold enough. Come in, Jerry, and tell me all the
news."

"I'll light that fire first," said Jerry, practically. "We can talk
when Bunty darling brings our tea."

Miss Bunting shook her head at him and tried to frown but as no one
ever minded in the least what Jerry said, her effort at propriety was a
failure, and she retreated to set about the tea, observing
maliciously:--

"I'll send 'Mrs. Lawrence darling' up to talk to you, Mr. Leigh."

"Great Jehosaphat!"--Jerry flew after her to the door--"If you do, I'm
off. That woman upsets my digestion--she's so beastly effusive. I
thought she was going to kiss me last time."

Miss Bunting laughed as she disappeared downstairs.

"You're safe to-day," she threw back at him. "She's out."

Jerry returned to his smouldering fire and proceeded to encoura