ner of his telegram and pulled it gently.

"No, no," he said, holding it tightly. "It is too absurd. I don't think
I ought--"

Agatha gave a decisive pull, and read the message aloud. It was from
Trefusis, thus:

"I forgive your thoughts since Brandon's return. Write her to-night,
and follow your letter to receive an affirmative answer in person. I
promised that you might rely on me. She loves you."

"I never heard of such a thing in my life," said Jane. "Never!"

"He is certainly a most unaccountable man," said Sir Charles.

"I am glad, for my own sake, that he is not so black as he is painted,"
said Agatha. "You may believe every word of it, Mr. Erskine. Be sure to
do as he tells you. He is quite certain to be right."

"Pooh!" said Erskine, crumpling the telegram and thrusting it into his
pocket as if it were not worth a second thought. Presently he slipped
away, and did not reappear. When they were about to retire, Sir Charles
asked a servant where he was.

"In the library, Sir Charles; writing."

They looked significantly at one another and went to bed without
disturbing him.

CHAPTER XVIII

When Gertrude found herself beside Trefusis in the Pullman, she wondered
how she came to be travelling with him against her resolution, if not
against her will. In the presence of two women scrutinizing her as if
they suspected her of being there with no good purpose, a male
passenger admiring her a little further off, her maid reading Trefusis's
newspapers just out of earshot, an uninterested country gentleman
looking glumly out of window, a city man preoccupied with the
"Economist," and a polite lady who refrained from staring but not from
observing, she felt that she must not make a scene; yet she knew he had
not come there to hold an ordinary conversation. Her doubt did not last
long. He began promptly, and went to the point at once.

"What do you think of this engagement of mine?"

This was more than she could bear calmly. "What is it to me?" she said
indignantly. "I have nothing to do with it."

"Nothing! You are a cold friend to me then. I thought you one of the
surest I possessed."

She moved as if about to look at him, but checked herself, closed her
lips, and fixed her eyes on the vacant seat before her. The reproach he
deserved was beyond her power of expression.

"I cling to that conviction still, in spite of Miss Lindsay's
indifference to my affairs. But I confess I hardly know how to bring y