steadily to
his work, and smoothed over many difficult situations. He was apt to
quarrel with Quenrede, but he had a soft corner for Ingred, and
sometimes made rather a pet of her.

A few days after the incident at the Abbey he turned up at school, to
her immense astonishment, and asked leave from Miss Burd to take her out
to tea at a cafe. It had been an old promise on his part, ever since
Ingred went to the hostel, but it had hung fire so long that she had
come to regard it as one of those piecrust promises that elder members
of a family frequently make, and never find it convenient to carry out.
She had reminded Egbert of it at intervals all through the autumn term,
then had given it up as "a bad job." To find him waiting for her in Miss
Burd's study, ready to escort her to the Alhambra tea-rooms, seemed like
a fairy tale come true. She whisked off at once to make the best
possible toilet in the circumstances, and reappeared smilingly ready.
When you have tea every day at a long table full of girls, the meal is
apt to grow monotonous, and it was a welcome change to take it instead
in a gay Oriental room with Moorish decorations and luxurious
arm-chairs, and a platform in a corner, where musicians were giving a
capital concert. Ingred leaned back on an embroidered cushion and ate
cakes covered with pink sugar, and listened to a violin solo followed by
some charming songs, and watched the gay crowd sitting at the other
small tables. It was really delightful to be out just with Egbert alone.
It made her feel almost grown-up. Moreover, he was in such a remarkably
generous mood. He set no limit to the supply of cakes, and he stopped at
the counter as they went downstairs and bought her a box of chocolates
and a large packet of Edinburgh rock. He even went further, for as they
walked round the square together, and looked into the window of a fancy
shop, he told her to choose her birthday present, and agreed amicably
when she selected a morocco-leather bag which was for the moment the
summit of her dreams. She parted from him at the College gates in
deepest gratitude. This was indeed something like a brother!

"You're an absolute trump!" she assured him.

"Well, a fellow's always got a decent sister to take about, anyway," he
replied enigmatically, a remark over which Ingred pondered, but could
not fathom.

She mentioned the jaunt at the family supper-table on Friday evening. To
her immense surprise her innocent remark