things that are still hearts even if you turn them upside
down."

"Is that an advantage?" asked Mordaunt.

She whizzed round on the music-stool. "Trevor! I wish you wouldn't make
me jump. Of course it is an advantage if a thing never looks wrong way
up. You will remember, won't you, Hilda? Turquoise and pearl."

"Are you going to be chief mourner?" asked Rupert.

"Don't be horrid! I'm going to be chief bridesmaid, if that's what you
mean?"

"And turquoise and pearl is to be the order of the day?" queried
Mordaunt.

"A white muslin frock and a blue sash, I suppose," supplemented Rupert.
"Hair worn long and tied with a blue bow rather bigger than an
ordinary-sized sunshade. No shoes and no stockings, but some pale blue
sandals over white lace socks. Result--ravishing!"

Chris glanced round for a missile, found none, so decided to ignore him.

"Yes," she said to her _fiance_, "and we are going to carry bouquets of
wheat and cornflowers."

"Sounds like the ingredients of a pudding," said Rupert.

Chris rose from the piano in disgust, and her brother instantly slipped
into her place. "I say, Hilda," he called, "come and sing! There's no one
to listen to you but me; but that's a detail. Trevor and Christina, pray
consider yourselves excused."

"We don't want to be excused," said Chris mutinously "Do stop, Rupert!
Cinders doesn't like it."

Rupert, however, was already crashing through Mendelssohn's Wedding
March, and turned a deaf ear. She picked the discontented one up to
comfort him, and as she did so Trevor moved up to her. He stood beside
her for a few seconds, stroking the dog's soft head.

Chris looked hot and uncomfortable, as if Rupert's music pounded on her
nerves; but yet she would not make a move. She stood hushing Cinders as
if he had been an infant.

"Shall we go outside?" Mordaunt said at last.

She shook her head.

"Come!" he said gently.

She turned without a word, laid the dog tenderly in a chair, whispered to
him, kissed him, and went to the open window.

They stepped out together, and the curtains met behind them.

The moon had passed out of sight behind the houses, but the sky was
alight with stars. A faint breeze trembled through the trees in the quiet
square garden, and the faint, wonderful essence of summer came from them.
From a distance sounded the roar of countless wheels--the deep chorus of
London's traffic.

They stood side by side in silence while behind them Rupert play