ice
Gaddesden, though it was hard to be actively fond of her. She and
her husband were quite good friends; but they were no longer of any
real importance to each other. He was a good deal older than she;
and was often away from London on 'war work' in the Midlands. On
these occasions Alice generally invited herself to Mannering. She
thus got rid of housekeeping, which in these days of rations worried
her to death. Moreover, food at Mannering was much more plentiful
than food in town--especially since the advent of Elizabeth
Bremerton.

It was of Elizabeth that Mrs. Gaddesden was thinking as she sat
alone in the hall. From her seat she could perceive a shrubbery walk
in the garden outside, along which two figures were pacing--Miss
Bremerton and the new agent. Beyond, at some distance, she was aware
of another group disappearing among the trees of the park--Pamela
with Captain Chicksands and Beryl.

This was the first time that any member of the Chicksands family had
been a guest at Mannering since the quarrel in the autumn. The
Squire had not yet brought himself to shake hands with Sir Henry.
But Beryl on the one side, and Pamela on the other--aided and
abetted always by Elizabeth Bremerton--had been gradually breaking
down the embargo; and when, hearing from Beryl that her brother
Arthur was with them for a few days, Pamela had openly proposed in
her father's presence to ask them both to luncheon, the Squire had
pretended not to hear, but had at any rate raised no objection. And
when the brother and sister arrived, he had received them as though
nothing had happened. His manners were always brusque and
ungracious, except in the case of persons who specially mattered to
his own pursuits, such as archaeologists and Greek professors. But
the Chetworth family were almost as well acquainted with his ways as
his own, and his visitors took them philosophically. Arthur
Chicksands had kept the table alive at luncheon with soldier
stories, and the Squire's sulky or sarcastic silence had passed
unnoticed.

Mrs. Gaddesden's mind was very full of the Captain's good looks and
distinction. He was now in London, at the War Office, it seemed, for
a short time, on a special mission; hence his occasional weekends
with his family. When the mission was over--so Beryl told Pamela--he
was probably going out to an important appointment in the
Intelligence Department at G.H.Q. 'Arthur's a great swell,' said
Beryl, 'though as to what he's