party. The fresh air of spring,
the sky washed of clouds and already shedding warmth from its blue,
seemed the reply vouchsafed by nature to the mood of her chosen spirits.
These chosen spirits were to be found also among the deer, dumbly
basking, and among the fish, set still in mid-stream, for they were mute
sharers in a benignant state not needing any exposition by the tongue.
No words that Cassandra could come by expressed the stillness, the
brightness, the air of expectancy which lay upon the orderly beauty
of the grass walks and gravel paths down which they went walking four
abreast that Sunday afternoon. Silently the shadows of the trees lay
across the broad sunshine; silence wrapt her heart in its folds. The
quivering stillness of the butterfly on the half-opened flower, the
silent grazing of the deer in the sun, were the sights her eye rested
upon and received as the images of her own nature laid open to happiness
and trembling in its ecstasy.

But the afternoon wore on, and it became time to leave the gardens.
As they drove from Waterloo to Chelsea, Katharine began to have some
compunction about her father, which, together with the opening of
offices and the need of working in them on Monday, made it difficult to
plan another festival for the following day. Mr. Hilbery had taken their
absence, so far, with paternal benevolence, but they could not trespass
upon it indefinitely. Indeed, had they known it, he was already
suffering from their absence, and longing for their return.

He had no dislike of solitude, and Sunday, in particular, was pleasantly
adapted for letter-writing, paying calls, or a visit to his club. He was
leaving the house on some such suitable expedition towards tea-time
when he found himself stopped on his own doorstep by his sister, Mrs.
Milvain. She should, on hearing that no one was at home, have withdrawn
submissively, but instead she accepted his half-hearted invitation to
come in, and he found himself in the melancholy position of being forced
to order tea for her and sit in the drawing-room while she drank it. She
speedily made it plain that she was only thus exacting because she had
come on a matter of business. He was by no means exhilarated at the
news.

"Katharine is out this afternoon," he remarked. "Why not come round
later and discuss it with her--with us both, eh?"

"My dear Trevor, I have particular reasons for wishing to talk to you
alone.... Where is Katharine?"

"She'