he
was talking to Elisabeth, he did not care a straw what they were talking
about; which showed that he really was culpably indifferent to--if not
absolutely ignorant of--the rules of the game.

"Then we might as well walk together." And Elisabeth drew on her long
Suede gloves and leisurely opened her parasol, as they strolled down the
drive after bidding farewell to the Tremaines.

Christopher was silent from excess of happiness. It was so wonderful to
be walking by Elisabeth's side again, and listening to her voice, and
watching the lights and shadows in those gray eyes of hers which
sometimes were so nearly blue. But Elisabeth did not understand his
silence; she translated it, as she would have translated silence on her
own part, into either boredom or ill-temper, and she resented it
accordingly.

"You are very quiet this afternoon. Aren't you going to talk to me?" she
said; and Christopher's quick ear caught the sound of the irritation in
her voice, though he could not for the life of him imagine what he had
done to bring it there; but it served to silence him still further.

"Yes--yes, of course I am," he said lamely; "what shall we talk about? I
am afraid there is nothing interesting to tell you about the Osierfield,
things are going on so regularly there, and so well."

How exactly like Christopher to begin to talk about business when she
had given him the chance to talk about more interesting
subjects--herself, for instance, Elisabeth thought; but he never had a
mind above sordid details! She did not, of course, know that at that
identical moment he was wondering whether her eyes were darker than they
used to be, or whether he had forgotten their exact shade; he could
hardly have forgotten their colour, he decided, as there had never been
a day when he had not remembered them since he saw them last; so they
must actually be growing darker.

"I'm glad of that," said Elisabeth coldly, in her most fine-ladylike
manner.

"It was distinctly kind of you to find time to run down here, in the
midst of your London life, to see Willie! He fretted after you sadly,
and I am afraid the poor little fellow is not long for this world." And
Christopher sighed.

Elisabeth noted the sigh and approved of it. It was a comfort to find
that the man had feelings of any sort, she said to herself, even though
only for a child; that was better than being entirely immersed in
self-interest and business affairs.

So they talked