immediately without another word to stride down
the grass path into the darkness of the trees.

Cicely looked after him for an instant and then went back to the house
and crept up to her room.

CHAPTER XV

BLOOMSBURY

Mackenzie met her at the London terminus. She had seen no one she knew
either at the station at Bathgate or in the train. She was well dressed,
in a tailor-made coat and skirt and a pretty hat. She got out of a
first-class carriage and looked like a young woman of some social
importance, travelling alone for once in a way, but not likely to be
allowed to go about London alone when she reached the end of her
journey. She was quite composed as she saw Mackenzie's tall figure
coming towards her, and shook hands with him as if he were a mere
acquaintance.

"I have seen nobody I know," she said, and then immediately added, "I
must send a telegram to my mother. I can't leave her in anxiety for a
whole night."

He frowned, but not at her. "You can't do that," he said, "you don't
want the post-office people to know."

"I have thought of that. I will say 'Have come up to see Muriel. Writing
to-night.' It isn't true, but I will tell them afterwards why I did it."

"Will that satisfy them?"

"I am deceiving them anyhow."

"Oh, I don't mean that. Will they think it all right--your coming up to
your sister-in-law?"

"No, they will be very much surprised. But the post-office people will
not gather anything."

"They will wire at once to your brother. You had much better leave it
till to-morrow."

"No, I can't do that," she said. "I will wire just before eight o'clock.
Then a return wire will not go through before the morning."

"Yours might not get through to-night."

"Oh yes, it will. They would take it up to the house whatever time it
came."

"Very well," he said. "Now come along," and he hailed a hansom.

"Please don't think me tiresome," she said, when they were in the cab,
"but there is another thing I must do. I must write to my mother so that
she gets my letter the very first thing to-morrow morning."

He gave an exclamation of impatience. "You can't do that," he said
again. "The country mails have already gone."

"I can send a letter by train to Bathgate. I will send it to the hotel
there with a message that it is to be taken over to Kencote the first
thing in the morning."

"You are very resourceful. It may give them time to get on to our track,
before we are married."

"I