en her anxiety
turned to indignation on her darling's behalf, and she snatched him away
and kept him sheltered in her arms for the rest of their sojourn.

"I never punish Cinders," she said. "He's hardly ever naughty, and if he
is he's always sorry afterwards."

Cinders, whose temper was ruffled, glared at Mordaunt and cursed him in
an undertone throughout the meal, notwithstanding the choice morsels with
which his young mistress sought to propitiate him.

"I do hope you haven't made him dislike you," she said, when at length
they returned to the car. "He is rather tiresome with people he doesn't
like."

"If he doesn't behave himself, we will send him to Bertrand to take care
of," Mordaunt rejoined.

"Indeed we won't!" Chris declared, with warmth. "He has never been away
from me day or night since I first had him."

At which declaration Mordaunt raised his eyebrows, and said no more.

He had always known Cinders for a dog of character, but not till that day
had he credited him with the remarkable intuition by which he seemed to
know--and resent--the fact that his mistress was no longer his exclusive
property. It may have been that Chris herself imparted something of the
new state of affairs to him by the very zeal of her guardianship. But
undoubtedly, whatever its source, the knowledge had dawned in Cinders'
brain and with it a fierce jealousy which he had never displayed in
Mordaunt's presence before.

It was an afternoon of unclouded sunshine. Chris lay back in her seat,
somewhat wearied but quite content, watching the cornfields with their
red wealth of poppies, watching the long, white road before them, and now
and then the unerring hands that held the wheel.

When at length they neared Kellerton she roused herself and became more
animated. "It's been a lovely ride, Trevor. Let's go for one every day.
Sometimes we might go down to the sea--it's only ten miles. But we will
wait till Bertie comes for that. Ah, there is the lodge! How smart it
looks! And they have actually taken the thistles out of the drive! I
shouldn't have known it."

She sat up with eager delight in her eyes. The lodge-gates were open;
they ran smoothly in without a pause and on up the long avenue to the old
grey house.

Chris was enchanted. It was such a home-coming as she had never pictured.

"It's like a dream," she said. "I can't believe it's true. Everything
looks so different. The garden was an absolute wilderness the last time