his work, was all she desired; and being at heart an incurable little
optimist, she was content to weave her rose-coloured dreams, spin her
shining web, with no anxiety about the future to shadow and darken her
thoughts.

Yet Barry, with his quick intuition, was uncannily aware of the girl's
infatuation; and it was Barry who, through his very knowledge of her
secret, precipitated the inevitable revelation.

* * * * *

One day during Toni's absence for lunch the two men were sitting
together in Owen's room when Owen suddenly threw a large unmounted
photograph across to his friend.

"What's this, Owen? Oh--your house at Willowhurst, isn't it? By Jove,
it's a lovely place--I wonder you don't live there."

The moment he had spoken he would willingly have recalled his words, but
Owen gave him no time.

"You forget--I was going to live there!" His smile was forced. "The
people who have had it for years cleared out last October, and it was
all put in apple-pie order then, in anticipation of my wife's arrival."

Barry, red and embarrassed, said nothing, but examined the photograph
with unnecessary minuteness.

"Seems a pity the place should stand idle," went on Owen musingly. "It's
a jolly old house, and been in the family for centuries--built before
the river became fashionable--and the grounds are really fine; some
gorgeous old trees and shrubs in them."

"How far from town?" Barry put the first question that suggested itself.

"Oh, not far--twenty or thirty miles. You can get up easily in a car or
by a fast train. Greenriver--that's the house--is really charmingly
situated, with big grounds at the back, and the river just beneath the
house."

"You lived there as a youngster?"

"Yes. When my father died my mother couldn't bear to live there, and we
let the place. After her death I could have gone back, but somehow I
didn't want to. It was only when I met Vivian----"

He broke off suddenly, and springing to his feet, began to pace up and
down.

"By Jove, Barry, what fools we men make of ourselves over women! Just
because Vivian was kind, smiled on me, seemed really interested in my
affairs, I told her everything--all sorts of things I haven't even told
you, old chap! We used to go for strolls together in the summer
evenings--once or twice we motored down to Richmond and went for a walk
in the park ... we used to talk about all sorts of things ... women are
the very deuce for le