cial knowledge
common to artistic natures, had picked up a considerable amount of
rose-lore at the house of some friends in Devonshire.

There was one big yellow rose on a bush near the middle of the garden,
and bending over it, he buried his nose in it.

"Victor!"

Brigit had joined him unheard, and stood looking at him, her hand held
out. "Let me give you that rose."

But he shook his head. "No, let it die there. It is so beautiful among
the leaves. You are up early."

"Yes. I saw you from the window, and brought you your letters." She
handed him several as she spoke.

"Thanks."

"And--I want to thank you for staying. It is you, and only you, who have
saved Tommy."

He nodded gravely. "I love Tommy. We must not let him overwork again,
Brigit."

"No."

Joyselle turned over his letters without looking at them. "Did Theo
speak to you the other day about--our--that is to say, his plan?"

Her face stiffened. "No."

This was the first time she had succeeded in seeing Victor alone during
all the five days of his stay. Unobtrusively but effectively he had
avoided her, shutting himself, when he was not in the sick-room, in his
own room, under the pretext of fatigue or correspondence. And she had
not submitted to this without repeated efforts to foil his intentions.

Again and again she had made little plans to catch him alone, but she
had invariably failed, and as the days passed and she realised his
strength of determination, a dull, slow fire of anger had begun to burn
in her.

Theo, who had been down twice, had found her manner very unsatisfactory;
she was strikingly different from what she had been in Falaise, and the
young man was puzzled and hurt. While Tommy was still very ill he had
borne with her change of mood with great patience, but the time was
coming when he must demand an explanation. All this she felt and
resented.

She looked, as she stood by the rose-bush, very tired, and older than
her years, but she looked remarkably handsome; pallor and heavy eyelids
did not disfigure her as they do most women.

Joyselle took out his silver box and made a cigarette.

"He was talking to me about it," he went on, disregarding the final
quality of her negative. "And I find it very good. It is that Tommy
should live much with--_you_--when you are married. Your mother does not
know how to bring him up; he is delicate and high-strung, and Theo is
very fond of him."

"I am not going to marry Theo!" she b