nce. Pauline felt
hurt that he should be so much interested in a friend when but a moment
ago he had brought her here as if her presence were the only thing that
counted for his evening's pleasure.

"I must find out where he is," exclaimed Guy.

Now he wanted to be rid of her, thought Pauline, and for the first time,
when he had kissed her, she kissed him coldly in response. More bitter
still was the thought that he did not remonstrate; he had not noticed.
Pauline said she must hurry away, and Guy did not persuade her to stop.
Oh, how she hated this friend of his! She had no one in whom she would
be even mildly interested when she was with Guy. He took her home in the
canoe, speculating all the way about Michael Fane's whereabouts; and as
Pauline went across the Rectory paddock there were tears of
mortification in her eyes that sometimes burnt as hotly even as with
jealousy's rage.

Her mother was on the lawn when she got back, and Pauline blinked her
eyes a good deal to throw the blame of tears upon the sun.

"Ah, you're back. Let's take a little walk round the garden," said Mrs.
Grey in the nervous manner that told of something on her mind.

They went into the larger wall-garden and walked along the wide
herbaceous borders through a blaze of snapdragons that here all day had
been swallowing the sunshine.

"Where did you go with Guy?" her mother asked.

"We went down the river, and they're cutting the grass in the big
meadow, and then afterwards...."

"Oh, Pauline, afterwards you went into Guy's house with him?"

Pauline nodded. "I know. I was just going to tell you."

"Pauline, how could you do such a thing?"

"I only went to say good night. I wasn't there five minutes."

Why should an action so simple be vexing her mother?

"Are you angry with me for going?"

"You must never do such a thing again," said Mrs. Grey, more crossly
than Pauline had ever heard her. "Monica saw you go in as she was
walking down Shipcot hill, and she has just this moment come and told
me."

"But why shouldn't I go in and say good night?" Pauline asked. "There
were people in the churchyard. I thought it was better to say good
night in the house."

Her mother was tremendously pink with vexation, and Pauline looked at
her in surprise. It was really unaccountable that such a trifling
incident as going into Guy's house could have made her as angry as this.
She must have offended her in some other way.

"Mother, what have I d