rgot himself--carried
away by a sudden unreasoning anger which surprised him almost as much as
it did Maurice Gordon.

"Why, you damned fool," said Jack, "any idiot would have known that she
would take it like that. How could she do otherwise? You, her brother,
ought to know that to a girl like Miss Gordon the idea of marrying such
a low brute as Durnovo could only be repugnant. Durnovo--why, he is not
good enough to sweep the floor that she has stood upon! He's not fit to
speak to her; and you go on letting him come to the house, sickening her
with his beastly attentions! You're not capable of looking after a lady!
I would have kicked Durnovo through that very window myself, only"--he
paused, recalling himself with a little laugh--"only it was not my
business."

Maurice Gordon sat down forlornly. He tapped his boot with his cane.

"Oh, it's very well for you," he answered; "but I'm not a free agent.
_I_ can't afford to make an enemy of Durnovo."

"You need not have made an enemy of him," said Jack, and he saved
Maurice Gordon by speaking quickly--saved him from making a confession
which could hardly have failed to alter both their lives.

"It will not be very difficult," he went on; "all she wants is your
passive resistance. She does not want you to help HIM--do you see? She
can do the rest. Girls can manage these things better than we think, if
they want to. The difficulty usually arises from the fact that they are
not always quite sure that they do want to. Go and beg her pardon. It
will be all right."

So Maurice Gordon went away also, leaving Jack Meredith alone in the
drawing-room with his own thoughts.

CHAPTER XXXII. AN ENVOY

What we love perfectly
For its own sake we love,...
... That which is best for it is best for us.

"Feel like gettin' up to breakfast, do you, sir?" said Joseph to his
master a few days later. "Well, I am glad. Glad ain't quite the word,
though!"

And he proceeded to perform the duties attendant on his master's
wardrobe with a wise, deep-seated shake of the head. While setting the
shaving necessaries in order on the dressing-table, he went further--he
winked gravely at himself in the looking-glass.

"You've made wonderful progress the last few days, sir," he remarked. "I
always told Missis Marie that it would do you a lot of good to have Mr.
Gordon to heart you up with his cheery ways--and Miss Gordon too, sir."

"Yes, but they would not h