ial
obstacle, which made him disinclined to extend their circle of common
acquaintances. Was that what he meant by his grave air this evening?
Was he annoyed at the thought of a publicity which would reveal her
maiden name?

These currents of troubled feeling streamed together and bore her
turbidly onwards whither her desires pointed. In one way, and one way
only, could she hope to become triumphantly conspicuous, to raise
herself quite above petty social prejudices, to defeat ill-wishers and
put to shame faint-hearted friends. She had never been able to endure
the thought of mediocrity. One chance there was; she must grasp it
energetically and without delay. And she must make use of all
subsidiary means to her great conquest--save only the last dishonour.

That on her own merit she might rise to the first rank of musicians,
Alma did not doubt. Her difficulty lay in the thought that it might
require a long time, a wearisome struggle, to gain the universal
recognition which alone would satisfy her. Therefore must Cyrus
Redgrave be brought to the exertion of all his influence, which she
imagined would assist her greatly. Therefore, too, must Felix Dymes be
retained as her warm friend, probably (his own suggestion) as her man
of business.

It was January. Her 'recital' must take place in the coming season, in
May or June. She would sketch a programme at once--tomorrow
morning--and then work, work, work terrifically!

Saved by the fervour of this determination from brooding over mysteries
and jealousies, Alma lay down with a contented sigh, and was soon
asleep, thanks to the health she still enjoyed. Her excitability was of
the imagination rather than of the blood, and the cool, lymphatic flow,
characteristically feminine, which mingled with the sanguine humour,
traceable perhaps to a paternal source, spared her many an hour of
wakefulness, as it guarded her against much graver peril.

On Sunday morning she generally went to church--not because of any
spiritual impulse, but out of habit. In Wales, Harvey often accompanied
her; at Pinner he ceased to do so; but neither then nor now had any
talk on the subject passed between them. Alma took it for granted that
her husband was very 'broad' in matters of faith. She gathered from her
reading that every man of education nowadays dispensed with dogmas,
and, for her own part, it was merely an accident that she had not
sought to attract attention by pronounced freethinking. Si