him to the corner. There she swerved.

"No," said Jeff, "you're coming with me. That's the place for you.
They'll be good to you, all of them. They're awfully decent. I'll be
decent, too. You sha'n't feel you've been jailed. Only you can't walk
off and be a prisoner to--him. Things sha'n't be hard for you. They
shall be easier."

Lydia, behind, could believe he was going on in this broken flow of
words to soothe her, reassure her. "Oh," Lydia wanted to call to him,
"make love to her if you can. I don't care. Anything you want to do I'll
stand by, if it kills me. Haven't I said I'd die for you?"

But at that moment of high excitement Lydia didn't believe anything
would kill her, even seeing Jeff walk away from her with this little
wisp of wrong desires to hold and cherish.

Jeff took Esther up the winding path, opened the door and led her into
the library where his father sat yawning. Lydia slipped round the back
way to the kitchen and took off her hat and coat.

"Cold!" she said to Mary Nellen, to explain her coming, and warmed her
hands a moment before she went into the front hall and put her things
away.

"Father," said Jeff, with a loud cheerfulness that sounded fatuous in
his own ears, "here's Esther. She's come to stay."

The colonel got on his feet and advanced with his genial courtesy and
outstretched hand. But Esther stood like a stone and did not touch the
hand. Anne came in, at that moment, Lydia following. Anne had caught
Jeff's introduction and looked frankly disconcerted. But Lydia marched
straight up to Esther.

"I've always been hateful to you," she said, "whenever I've seen you.
I'm not so hateful now. And Anne's a dear. Farvie's lovely. We'll all do
everything we can to make it nice for you."

Jeff had been fumbling at the back of Esther's veil and Anne now, seeing
some strange significance in the moment, put her quick fingers to work.
The veil came off, and Esther stood there, white, stark, more tragic
than she had ever looked in all the troubles of her life. The colonel
gave a little exclamation of sorrow over her and drew up the best chair
to the fire, and Anne pushed back the lamp on the table so that its
light should not fall directly on her face. Then there were commonplace
questions and answers. Where had Jeff been? How many miles did he think
he had walked? And in the midst of the talk, while Lydia was upstairs
patting pillows and lighting the fire in the spare-chamber, Esther
suddenl