as he was leaving home on the Wednesday prior to her
arrival.

Trent's departure was the last thing Elisabeth desired. Above
all things, she wanted to meet the man whom she regarded as the
stumbling-block in the path of her son, for if it were possible that
anything might yet be done to further the desire of Tim's heart, it
could only be if Elisabeth, as the _dea ex machina_, were acquainted
with all the pieces in the game.

She must know what manner of man it was who had succeeded in winning
Sara's heart before she could hope to combat his influence, and, if
the feet of clay were there, she must see them herself before she could
point them out to Sara's love-illusioned eyes. Should she fail of making
Trent's acquaintance, she would be fighting in the dark.

Elisabeth pondered the matter for some time. Finally, she dispatched a
telegram, prepaying a reply, to the proprietor of the Cliff Hotel, and
a few hours later she announced to her husband that she proposed
antedating her visit to Monkshaven by three days.

"I shall go down the day after to-morrow--on Monday," she said.

"Then I'd better send a wire to Sara," suggested Geoffrey.

"No, don't do that. I intend taking her by surprise." Elisabeth smiled
and dimpled like a child in the possession of a secret. "I shall go down
there just in time for dinner, and write to Sara the same evening."

Major Durward laughed with indulgent amusement.

"What an absurd lady you are still, Beth!" he exclaimed, his honest face
beaming adoration. "No one would take you to be the mother of a grown-up
son!"

"Wouldn't they?" For a moment Elisabeth's eyes--veiled, enigmatical
as ever--rested on Tim's distant figure, where he stood deep in the
discussion of some knotty point with the head gardener. Then they came
back to her husband's face, and she laughed lightly. "Everybody doesn't
see me through the rose-coloured spectacles that you do, dearest."

"There are no 'rose-coloured spectacles' about it," protested Geoffrey
energetically. "No one on earth would take you for a day more than
thirty--if it weren't for the solid fact of Tim's six feet of bone and
muscle!"

Elisabeth jumped up and kissed her husband impulsively.

"Geoffrey, you're a great dear," she declared warmly. "Now I must run
off and tell Fanchette to pack my things."

So it came about that on the following Tuesday, Sara, to her
astonishment and delight, received a letter from Elisabeth announcing
her arrival