ooke's wife smiling.

"Well, never mind evidence, mammy dear. What I want to say is that I
feel very sorry for Mrs. Romaine. You see she must be feeling very much
alone in the world. Oliver, whom she really cared for, is dead, and
Francis is out of his mind, and Francis' wife"--with a little
shudder--"cannot be anything to her--and then, don't you think, mamma,
that when there has been _one_ case of insanity in the family, she must
be afraid of herself too?"

"Not necessarily. Francis Trent's insanity was the result of an
accident."

"Yes, but it is very saddening for her, all the same, and she must be
terribly lonely in that house in Russell Square. I wanted to know if I
might go and call upon her?"

"You, dear? I thought you did not like her."

"I don't," said Lesley, frankly, "but I am sorry for her. Ethel asked me
why I did not go. She thought there must be something wrong, because
Rosalind never came to see her after Oliver's death--never once. I
believe she has scarcely been out of the house--not at all since the
funeral, and that is a month ago. I have not heard that she was ill, so
I suppose it is just that she is--miserable, poor thing."

Lady Alice stroked her daughter's hair in silence for a minute or two.
"I think I had better go instead of you, Lesley. There is no reason why
she should feel she cannot see us. She was not to blame for that
accusation--though I heard that she believed it. But I will see her
first, and you can go afterwards if she is able to receive visitors."

"That is very good of you, mamma--especially as you don't like her,"
said Lesley. "I can't help feeling thankful that Ethel will have nothing
to do with that family now. And since Maurice told her a little more
about poor Mr. Trent, I think she sees that she would not have been very
happy." She was silent for a little while, and then went on, trying to
give an indifferent sound to her words:--"Captain Duchesne's people live
near Eastbourne, he told me; and Ethel has gone to Seaford."

"Not far off," said Lady Alice, smiling a little. "I hope that his
sister Margaret will call on Ethel: I think they would like each other."

And no more was said, for it was as yet too early to wonder even whether
Harry Duchesne's adoration for Ethel Kenyon was ultimately to meet with
a return.

True to her new tastes, Lady Alice had had cards printed bearing the
name "Mrs. Caspar Brooke." She desired, she said, to be identified with
her husban