d murmured an assent. Thyrza
moved a little nearer the door.

'I think I'll go, now I've seen everything.'

'I am going myself.'

She preceded him down the stairs. He watched her ungloved hand touch
place after place on the railing, watched her slightly bent head with
its long braid of gold and the knot of blue ribbon. At the turning to
the lower flight, he caught a glimpse of her profile, and felt that he
would not readily forget its perfectness. At the foot he asked:

'Do you wish to pass through the house? If not, this door is open.'

'I'll go this way, sir.'

She just raised her face.

'Good-bye, Miss Trent,' he said, offering his hand.

'Good-bye, sir.'

Then he opened the door for her. After standing for a few moments in
the vestibule, he went to speak a word to the caretaker.

Thyrza walked home, looking neither to right nor to left. There was a
little spot of colour on each cheek which would not melt away. Reaching
the room upstairs, she sat down without taking off her things. She
ought to have prepared her dinner, but did not think of it, and at
length she was startled by hearing a clock strike three.

She ran down to the Grails' room. Gilbert and his mother had just
finished their meal. The latter gossiped for a moment, then went out.

'I want you to go somewhere with me,' Gilbert said.

'Yes, I'm quite ready; but--'

'But--'

'I have something to tell you, Gilbert. I wonder whether you'll be
cross.'

'When was I cross last, Thyrza?'

'No, but I'm not sure whether I ought to have done something. As I was
coming home, I thought I'd walk past the house. When I got there, I
thought I'd just go up the passage and look. And that old woman met me,
and asked me if it was me that was going to live there. How did she
know?'

Gilbert laughed.

'That's more than I can tell.'

'But that isn't all. She said I might go in and look about if I liked.
And I thought I would--did I do wrong?'

She saw a shade of disappointment on his face. But he said:

'Not at all. Did you go over all the rooms?'

'Yes. But there's something else. I went into those school-rooms
upstairs, never thinking there was any one there, because the old woman
told me there wasn't. But there _was_--and it was Mr. Egremont.'

'Really? Did he knew who you were?'

'I told him, Gilbert.'

He laughed again, and there was a look of pride in his eyes.

'Well, there's nothing very dreadful yet. And did he speak nicely?'

'Yes,