mistress had had a bad night and was indisposed in
consequence, it meant nothing special to her. She had come to regard
the beautiful Frenchwoman as spoiled and self-indulgent, prone, like
many others of her type, to exaggerate trifling ailments--though she
concluded that the explanation of this tendency lay in the boredom of
the woman's daily life. If she had been indulging in a round of gaiety
she would have proved equal to enormous exertion, but there is a vast
difference between dancing all night and lying awake in bed. Esther
knew that fact well.

At about twelve o'clock the doctor sent Esther with a message to Lady
Clifford. It seemed Sir Charles had been asking for her. The voice
that called out "_Entrez!_" in reply to Esther's knock sounded sharp
and strained.

Lady Clifford was sitting before her rather elaborate dressing-table,
partly dressed, wrapped in a peignoir of heavy white crepe. The face
she turned upon Esther was pale and shadowed about the eyes, the lips
tightly compressed. She really did look ill.

"As soon as you are dressed, Lady Clifford, would you mind going in to
Sir Charles? He has been asking for you. I believe he must have
something rather special to say to you."

"Ah?"

A quick look of both apprehension and suspicion sprang into the grey
eyes. What was she afraid of, wondered Esther?

"The doctor thinks he's not up to much conversation, so perhaps you'll
make it as brief as possible," added Esther tactfully.

"Yes, yes; I understand!" Lady Clifford replied, nodding impatiently.
"I will come at once."

She hastily dabbed some rouge on her cheeks, powdered her face and neck
with her heavily scented powder, and followed Esther across the boudoir
and into the other bedroom.

There Esther left her and, returning to the boudoir, sat down before
the blazing log-fire with a magazine, less to read than to review with
lazy enjoyment the whole of last night. She saw and felt it all again,
the lights, the dresses, the music, the little table with its shaded
lamp that shut the two of them into an enchanted circle, Roger's arm
about her as they danced, the drive home in the dark. Why had it all
been so thrilling? She had no doubt as to the answer, indeed her
certainty on this point made her pull herself up sharply, resolving to
restrain her errant fancy, not to allow herself to take too much for
granted.

Suddenly across the fabric of her thoughts the old man's voice reached
h