, you disreputable young man," she retorted laughing.
"Well, you'd better come right back to breakfast. You can use Jim's
shaving tackle to make yourself presentable."

She marched me off to the waiting brougham, and gave me the facts of
Anne's hasty departure as we drove rapidly along the quiet,
clean-washed, sunny streets.

"The letter came last night, but of course Anne didn't get it till she
came in this morning, about three."

"Did you sit up for her?"

"Goodness, no! Didn't you see Jim lend her his latch-key? We knew it
would be a late affair,--that's why we didn't go,--and that some one
would see her safe home, even if you weren't there. The Amory's motored
her home in their car; they had to wait for the storm to clear. I had
been sleeping the sleep of the just for hours, and never even heard her
come in. She'll be dead tired, poor dear, having next to no sleep, and
then rushing off like this--"

"What's wrong with Mr. Pendennis?" I interpolated. "Was the letter from
him?"

"Why, certainly; who should it be from? We didn't guess it was
important, or we'd have sent it round to her at Mrs. Sutherland's last
night. He's been sick for some days, and Anne believes he's worse than
he makes out. She only sent word to my room a little before eight; and
then she was all packed and ready to go. Wild horses wouldn't keep Anne
from her father if he wanted her! We're to send her trunks on
to-morrow."

While my cousin prattled on, I was recalling the events of a few hours
back. I must have been mistaken, after all! What a fool I had been! Why
hadn't I gone straight to Kensington after I left Lord Southbourne? I
should have spared myself a good deal of misery. And yet--I thought of
Anne's face as I saw it just now, looking out of the window, pale and
agitated, just as it had looked in the moonlight last night. No! I might
mentally call myself every kind of idiot, but my conviction remained
fixed; it was Anne whom I had seen. Suppose she had left Mrs.
Sutherland's early, as I had decided she must have done, when I racked
my brains in the night. It was close on one o'clock when I saw her on
the river; she might have landed lower down. I did not know--I do not
know even now--if there were any steps like those by Westminster Bridge,
where a landing could be effected; but suppose there were, she would be
able to get back to Cayleys by the time she had said. But why go on such
an expedition at all? Why? That was the maddenin