and if they're not too expensive I'll
buy some to try."

He held the open cigarette-case in front of her. "Won't you honour me by
accepting one?" he said.

She hesitated, and then in a moment very charmingly she yielded. "Thank
you--Mr. Green. I seem to have accepted a good deal from you to-night.
Thank you very much."

He made her a slight bow. "It has been my privilege to serve you," he
said. "I hope I may have further opportunities of being of use. I can get
you these cigarettes at any time if you like them. But they are not
obtainable locally."

"Not!" Her face fell. "How disappointing!"

"Not from my point of view," he said. "There's no difficulty about it. I
can get them for you if you will allow me."

He struck a match for her, and kindled a cigarette for himself also.

Juliet inhaled a deep breath. "They are lovely," she said. "I knew I
should like them when you went past Mrs. Rickett's smoking one."

He looked at her with amusement. "When was that?"

"When I was waiting for that dreadful ginger pudding at lunch--I
mean dinner." She paused. "No, that's horrid of me. Please consider
it unsaid!"

"Why shouldn't you say it if you think it?" he asked.

"Because it's unkind. Mrs. Rickett is the soul of goodness. And I am
going to learn to like her ginger pudding--and her dumplings--and
everything that is hers."

"How heroic of you! I wonder if you will succeed."

"Of course I shall succeed," Juliet spoke with confidence as she turned
to pass through the gate. "I am going to cultivate a contented mind here.
And when I go back to Lady Jo--if I ever do--I shall be proof against
anything."

He reached forward to open the gate. "I think you will probably go back
long before the contented mind has begun to sprout," he said.

She laughed as she walked on down the path. "But it has begun already. I
haven't felt so cheerful for a long time."

"That isn't real contentment," he pointed out. "It's your spirit of
adventure enjoying itself. Wait till you begin to be bored!"

"How extremely analytical!" she remarked. "I am not going to be bored. My
spirit of adventure is not at all an enterprising one. I assure you I
didn't enjoy that tumble over the cliff in the least. I am a very quiet
person by nature." She began to laugh. "You must have noticed I wasn't
very intrepid in the face of danger. I seem to remember your telling me
not to be silly."

"I hoped you had forgiven and forgotten that," he said.

"Nei