t the sisters; he
informed them that Miss Naylor had retired to bed; that Herr Paul would
not be home to dinner; his master was dining in his room; dinner would be
served for Mrs. Decie and the two young ladies in a quarter of an hour:
"And the fish is good to-night; little trouts! try them, Signorina!" He
moved on quickly, softly, like a cat, the tails of his dress-coat
flapping, and the heels of his white socks gleaming.

Christian ran upstairs. She flew about her room, feeling that if she
once stood still it would all crystallise in hard painful thought, which
motion alone kept away. She washed, changed her dress and shoes, and ran
down to her uncle's room. Mr. Treffry had just finished dinner, pushed
the little table back, and was sitting in his chair, with his glasses on
his nose, reading the Tines. Christian touched his forehead with her
lips.

"Glad to see you, Chris. Your stepfather's out to dinner, and I can't
stand your aunt when she's in one of her talking moods--bit of a humbug,
Chris, between ourselves; eh, isn't she?" His eyes twinkled.

Christian smiled. There was a curious happy restlessness in her that
would not let her keep still.

"Picture finished?" Mr. Treffry asked suddenly, taking up the paper with
a crackle. "Don't go and fall in love with the painter, Chris."

Christian was still enough now.

'Why not?' she thought. 'What should you know about him? Isn't he good
enough for me?' A gong sounded.

"There's your dinner," Mr. Treffry remarked.

With sudden contrition she bent and kissed him.

But when she had left the room Mr. Treffry put down the Times and stared
at the door, humming to himself, and thoughtfully fingering his chin.

Christian could not eat; she sat, indifferent to the hoverings of
Dominique, tormented by uneasy fear and longings. She answered Mrs.
Decie at random. Greta kept stealing looks at her from under her lashes.

"Decided characters are charming, don't you think so, Christian?" Mrs.
Decie said, thrusting her chin a little forward, and modelling the words.
"That is why I like Mr. Harz so much; such an immense advantage for a man
to know his mind. You have only to look at that young man to see that he
knows what he wants, and means to have it."

Christian pushed her plate away. Greta, flushing, said abruptly: "Doctor
Edmund is not a decided character, I think. This afternoon he said:
'Shall I have some beer-yes, I shall--no, I shall not'; then he ord