ion, and intended to keep her word, and she had no suspicion
whatever of who the other guests might be. She foresaw that such a
journey would break up her acquaintance with Claudius, and she regretted
it; and especially she regretted having allowed the Doctor so much
intimacy and so many visits. Not that he had taken advantage of the
footing on which he was received, for any signs of such a disposition on
his part would have abruptly terminated the situation; he had been the
very model of courtesy from the first. But she knew enough of men to
perceive that this gentle homage clothed a more sincere admiration than
lay at the root of the pushing attentions of some other men she had
known. Therefore she made up her mind that as there were yet three
weeks before sailing, after the expiration of which she would never be
likely to see Claudius again, she would let him down easily, so to
speak, that there might be no over-tender recollections on his part, nor
any little stings of remorse on her own. He had interested her; they had
spent a couple of pleasant months; she had given him no encouragement,
and he was gone without a sigh: that was the way in which Countess
Margaret hoped to remember Dr. Claudius by that time next month. And so,
fearing lest she might inadvertently have been the least shade too
cordial, she began to be a little more severe, on this hot morning when
Claudius, full of indecision, followed her out to their favourite
reading-place under the trees. It was the same spot where they had sat
when Barker first brought him to see her. Margaret had no particular
feeling about the little nook under the trees. It was merely the most
convenient place to sit and work; that was all. But to Claudius the
circle of green sward represented the temple of his soul, and Margaret
was to him Rune Wife and prophetess as well as divinity. In such places,
and of such women, his fair-haired forefathers, bare-armed and
sword-girt, had asked counsel in trouble, and song-inspiration in peace.

Here they sat them down, she determined to do the right by him, and
thinking it an easy matter; he utterly misunderstanding her. Without a
smile, they set to work at their reading. They read for an hour or more,
maintaining the utmost gravity, when, as luck would have it, the word
"friendship" occurred in a passage of the book. Claudius paused a
moment, his broad hand laid flat on the open page.

"That is one of the most interesting and one of