y, "you'll be nice to him,
because he's supposed to have introduced us."

"What lies! What lies!" Michael stamped.

"You told me a lie about your age," Lily retorted. "And I've told mother
a lie on your account, so you needn't be so particular. And if you think
you're going to make me cry, you're not."

She sat down on a seat and looked out at the bare woodland with sullen
eyes.

"Has Drake ever dared to make love to you?" demanded Michael.

"That's my business," said Lily. "You've no right to ask me questions
like that."

Michael looked at her so adorable even now, and suddenly throwing his
dignity to the dead leaves, he sat close beside her caressingly.

"Darling Lily," he whispered, "it was my fault. I lied first. I don't
care how much you talked about me. I don't care about anything but you.
I'll even say Drake is a decent chap--though he really isn't even
moderately decent. Lily, we had such a rotten Wednesday, and to-day
ought to be perfect. Will you forgive me? Will you?"

And the quarrel was over.

"But you don't care anything about Drake?" Michael asked, when half an
hour had dreamed itself away.

"Of course not," she reassured him. "Arthur likes Doris better than
me."

"But he mustn't like Doris," said Michael eagerly. "At least she mustn't
like him. Because I've got a friend--at least three million times as
decent as Drake--who wants to be in love with Doris, or rather he will
want to be when he sees her."

"Why, you haven't seen Doris yourself yet," laughed Lily.

"Oh, of course my plan may all come to nothing," Michael admitted. "But
look here, I vote we don't bother about anybody else in the world but
ourselves for the rest of the afternoon."

Nor did they.

"Shall I wear a top-hat to-morrow?" Michael asked even in the very
poignancy of farewell. "I mean--will your mother prefer it?"

"Oh, no, the people who come to tea with us on Sunday are mostly artists
and actors," decided Lily judicially.

"Do lots of people come then?" asked Michael, quickly jealous.

"A good many."

"I might as well have fallen in love with one of the Royal Family,"
sighed Michael in despair.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I never can see you alone," he declared.

"Why, we've had the whole of this afternoon," she told him.

"Do you call sitting in the middle of Kensington Gardens being alone?
Why, it was crammed with people," he ejaculated in disgust.

"I must go, I must go, I must go," Lily whispered a