d had never learnt, nor ever would.

She had spent more than an hour in Miss Kresney's stuffy, dusty
drawing-room, and had left it with a pleasantly revived sense of her
own importance; had left Kresney himself in a state of carefully
repressed triumph; for she had promised him an early morning ride in
two days' time.

It was all harmless enough so far as she was concerned--merely a case
of flattered vanity and idle hands. But the strong nature, the large
purpose, lies eternally at the mercy of life's little things.

She said nothing to Honor or Theo of her meeting with Kresney, or of
the coming ride. A fortnight of submission to the former had evoked a
passing gleam of independence. They would probably make a fuss; and
since they neither of them needed her, she was surely at liberty to
amuse herself as she pleased.

On her return a buzz of deep voices greeted her from the study, and it
transpired that Honor had gone over to Mrs Conolly's. Thus she had
leisure before dinner to argue the matter out in her mind to her own
complete justification. If Mr Kresney chose to be polite to her, why
should she rebuff him and hurt his feelings, just because Theo had
some stupid prejudice against him? On the other hand, where was the
use of vexing Theo, when every one was doing their best to shield him
from needless irritation? As soon as his eyes were right they would go
to the Hills together. She would have him all to herself; and Kresney
sank into immediate insignificance at the thought.

Meanwhile the man's assiduity and thinly veiled admiration formed a
welcome relief in a desert of dulness. Besides, one was bound to be
pleasant to a man when one practically owed him two hundred rupees.

Unwittingly she shelved the fact that Kresney was beginning to
exercise a disturbing fascination over her; that the insistence
underlying his humility alternately pleased and frightened her; the
lurking fear of what he might say next gave a distinct flavour of
excitement to their every meeting.

The slippery path that lies between truth and direct falsehood had
always been fatally easy for her to follow; and she followed it now
more from natural instinct, and from the child's dread of making
people "cross," than from any deliberate intent to deceive. It was so
much easier to say nothing. Therefore she said nothing; and left the
future to look after itself.

On returning from her first ride with Kresney, she found Honor in the
verandah