's End on one pretext and another almost every day. He
was kind and pleasant to the children, who amused and pleased
him--especially little Fay; but he was much puzzled by Meg, whom he had
known in pre-cap-and-apron days while she was staying at Wren's End.

He couldn't quite place Meg, and there was an occasional glint in her
queer eyes that he found disconcerting. He was never comfortable in her
society, for he objected to red hair almost as strongly as to a smell of
apples.

He really liked the children, and since he knew he couldn't get Jan
without them he was beginning to think that in such a big house as the
Grange they would not necessarily be much in the way. He knew nothing
whatever about Hugo Tancred.

Jan satisfied his fastidious requirements. She was dignified, graceful,
and, he considered, of admirable parts. He felt that in a very little
while he could imbue Jan with his own views as to the limitations and
delicate demarcations of such a marriage as he contemplated.

She was so sensible.

Meanwhile the object of these kind intentions was wholly unaware of
them. She was just then very much absorbed in her own affairs and
considerably worried about Meg's. For Captain Middleton's week-end was
repeated on the following Saturday and extended far into the next week.
He came constantly to Wren's End, where the children positively adored
him, and he seemed to possess an infallible instinct which led him to
the village whensoever Meg and her charges had business there.

On such occasions Meg was often quite rude to Captain Middleton, but the
children and William more than atoned for her coldness by the warmth of
their welcome, and he attached himself to them.

In fact, as regards the nursery party at Wren's End, Miles strongly
resembled William before a fire--you might drive him away ninety and
nine times, he always came thrusting back with the same expression of
deprecating astonishment that you could be other than delighted to see
him.

Whither was it all tending? Jan wondered.

No further news had come from Hugo; Peter, she supposed, had sailed and
was due in London at the end of the week.

Then Mr. Huntly Withells asked her one afternoon to bicycle over to see
his spring irises--he called them "_irides_," and invariably spoke of
"_croci_," and "_delphinia_"--and as Meg was taking the children to tea
at the vicarage, Jan went.

To her surprise, she found herself the sole guest, but supposed she was