e fireplace. May pushed
the door back again and came inside.

"Aunt Lena!" she called.

Lady Dashwood had been sitting on the couch near it. She was standing
now. It was she who had put up the lights. Her face was pale and her
eyes brilliant.

"May, it's all over!" she called under her breath.

May stood by the door. It was still ajar and in her hand.

"All over! What is all over?" she asked apprehensively.

"Shut the door!" said Lady Dashwood, in a low voice.

May shut the door.

"Gwendolen has broken off her engagement!" said Lady Dashwood,
controlling her voice.

May always remembered that moment. The room seemed to stretch about her
in alleys fringed with chairs and couches. There was plenty of room to
walk, plenty of room to sit down. There was plenty of time too. It was
extraordinary what a lot of time there was in the world, time for
everything you wanted to do. Then there was the portrait over the
mantelpiece. He seemed to have nothing to do. She had not thought of
that before. He was absolutely idle, simply looking on. And below these
trivial thoughts, tossed on the surface of her mind, flowed a strange,
confused, almost overwhelming, tide of joy.

CHAPTER XXIV

A CAUSE AND IMPEDIMENT

"Oh!" was all that May said.

Lady Dashwood looked at her and looked again. She put out her hand and
rested it on the mantelshelf, and still looked at May. May was taking
off one of her gloves. When she had unfastened the buttons she
discovered that she was wearing a watch on her wrist, and she wound it
up carefully.

Lady Dashwood was still looking, all her excitement was suppressed for
the moment. What was May thinking of--what had happened to her?

"For how long?" asked May, and she suddenly perceived that there had
been a rigid silence between them.

"For how long?" exclaimed Lady Dashwood.

"Yes," said May.

"The engagement is broken off!" said Lady Dashwood. "Broken off, dear!"

"Not permanently?" said May, as if she were speaking of an incident of
no particular importance.

Lady Dashwood's eyes gleamed. "For ever," she said.

May looked at her watch again and began to wind it up again. It refused
to be wound any more. May looked at it anxiously.

"Gwendolen goes to-morrow," said Lady Dashwood. "It is she who has
broken off the engagement, and she is going away before Jim returns. It
is all over, May, and I have been waiting for half an hour to tell you
the news. I have scarcely known h