issed her when he could have done it so
easily, and thereby, perhaps, have shaken her allegiance to some other
claim. For his intuition told him that though he was not her
acknowledged lover, he was by no means a mere friend. It was this
assurance that gave him hope, and there was comfort in the thought that
he had not lost all by daring too much.

About two hours later, Leigh descended from the billiard-room, where he
had been playing an inattentive and indifferent game with one of his
colleagues, and encountered Bishop Wycliffe coming into the hall from
the library in company with his host and Anthony Cobbens. The major
part of the company had already gone, leaving a few elderly talkers in
various corners, and a group of young people dancing in the ballroom,
which had been cleared after the lecture for that purpose.

"Ah, Littleford," the bishop was saying, "these entertainments of yours
are entirely delightful. You give every one the particular thing he
wants and send him away contented: to the artistic a glimpse of
Velasquez; to the young, a turn of the 'light fantastic toe;' to me,
one of your good cigars and a quiet chat in the corner about old times.
But have you seen Felicity?"

Littleford, a comfortable-looking man, with a fresh colour, a yellow
beard, and a general air of good living and goodfellowship about him,
hurried off to the ballroom to inquire. Meanwhile, Cobbens helped the
bishop into his coat with the solicitous attention due a swell official
of the Church, who was at the same time the father of Felicity
Wycliffe. Leigh, performing the same operation for himself, was
chatting with the other two, when Littleford returned to say that his
search had been in vain.

"She probably went home with Mrs. Parr," the bishop commented. "They
came together, I believe."

"Mrs. Parr is still here," Littleford said, "and complaining that Miss
Wycliffe has deserted her."

The bishop's residence was only about a block away, on the other side
of the street, and Leigh saw that Littleford's information caused no
particular concern. Seeking significance in everything she did, he
wondered whether her early withdrawal contained any element of hope for
himself, or whether she were ill. As he recalled the suppressed
excitement of her manner, he feared that this latter conjecture might
be the true one, and his heart contracted with anxiety. The three men
descended the broad steps together, the bishop remarking