You will spare me a few minutes, will you not?"

Vine was only human, and hers was an appeal it was not easy to refuse.
He placed a chair for her, and stood in a listening attitude.

"My dear young lady," he said, "I will listen gladly to anything that
you have to say. But as I have nothing more left which it would be of
any interest to you to steal, I scarcely understand to what I am
indebted for this unexpected"--he hesitated for a moment and concluded
his sentence with a not ungracious bow--"unexpected pleasure!" he said.

She smiled up at him delightfully.

"I am so glad, Mr. Vine," she said, "that you are going to be generous
and nice, because what I have to say to you is so difficult, and if you
were angry with me it would be very hard to say."

"I trust," he answered, "that I can accept a defeat; and you had all the
luck, you know."

"I had," she admitted. "It was, after all, nothing to do with me. I see
you have cleared your cupboard out. I can assure you that it was a
terribly stuffy place with all those clothes of yours hanging there."

He smiled.

"Well," he said, "you were very patient and very persistent. You have
won and I lost. I am not at all sure that it is not a good thing that I
lost. My friend Deane tells me so even now. But let that go. I am sure
you would like to tell me what it is that you have come here for."

"I have come," she answered, "to talk to you about Stella."

"Stella?" he repeated slowly.

Virginia nodded.

"Yes!" she said. "You see, I have all the time the feeling that I have
somehow or other done Stella an injury by taking her place with my
uncle, and do you know, Mr. Vine, since he has been in London he seems
quite altered. He has been simply delightful, and I haven't felt
frightened by him once. He keeps on giving me beautiful presents, and he
does not seem in the least in a hurry to get back to America."

Norris Vine smiled grimly.

"I do not blame him," he said.

"Yesterday," she continued, "I could not help it; I disobeyed his orders
and I spoke to him about Stella, and do you know, he listened to me
quite patiently. Mr. Vine, I am going to say something to you very
serious. You must not ask me how I know, or exactly what I know; but I
accidentally do know so much as this. You and Stella are very fond of
one another, and I should like to see you married."

He raised his eyebrows slowly.

"You would like," he repeated, "to see us married!"

She looked away f