usly disapproved. The income was too limited to allow of
Algitha's returning to her parents; otherwise Mrs. Fullerton would have
wished it. Algitha had now to provide for herself, as the allowance that
her father had given her could not be continued. She had previously done
her work for nothing, but now Mrs. Trevelyan, under whose care she had
been living, offered her a paid post in a Convalescent Home in which she
was interested.

"I am exceptionally fortunate," said Algitha, "for Mrs. Trevelyan has
arranged most kindly, so that I can get away to see mother and father at
the end of every week."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Fullerton had taken it for granted that Hadria would
remain at the Red House, and that Hubert would "forgive" her, as they
put it.

Circumstances seemed to take it equally for granted. Mrs. Fullerton
would now depend entirely on her children for every solace and pleasure.
She would require cheering, amusing, helping, in a thousand ways.
Algitha was to come down each week from Saturday till Monday, and the
brothers when they could. During the rest of the week, the invalid would
depend on her younger daughter. Hadria's leaving home, and the rumour of
a quarrel between her and Hubert, had conduced to her mother's illness,
perhaps had even caused it. Mrs. Fullerton had taken it bitterly to
heart. It had become obvious that Hadria would have now to remain at the
Red House, for her mother's sake, and that being so, she and Hubert
agreed that it was useless to discuss any other reasons for and against
it. Hubert was only too glad of her return, for appearance' sake.
Neither of them thought, for a moment, of what Henriette called a
"reconciliation." What had passed before Hadria's departure had revealed
finally, the hopelessness of such an attempt. Matters settled down
heavily and with an air of finality.

If only her mother's declining years were happy and peaceful, that would
be something of importance gained, but, alas! Mrs. Fullerton seemed
anything but happy. Her helplessness was hard to bear, and she felt the
worldly downfall, severely. All this, and the shattered state of her
nerves tended to make her exacting and irritable; and as she had felt
seriously aggrieved for so many years of her life, she now regarded the
devotion of her children as a debt tardily paid, and the habit grew
insensibly upon her of increasing her demands, as she found everyone so
ready to submit to them. The possession of power had it