, and then said, "Well, _what_ would you do
if you were in my place?"

He waited a minute and then said: "Don't you always write to him, when
he's away, as if you were enjoying yourself?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't he ever think that there's a good deal of Wilton one--way or
another?"

"I think he has," she said, brightening up a little.

"Well, for heaven's sake don't try that with Chetwode! The more he was
riled, the more he'd say to himself, 'Of course she's enjoying herself.
There's no harm in it. No hurry to go back.'"

"Chetwode," said Felicity, "is one of those very English men who would
never own they're jealous unless things came to extremities, which, of
course, naturally, they never would."

"Look here, you're making a fool of yourself," said Savile. "You're
making yourself miserable over nothing at all." He stood up. "Don't do
_anything_ till after lunch, perhaps not till this evening. You've just
had a bit of a shock. You'll find you're wrong. Telephone when you want
me."

He kissed her and went away.

Felicity closed the velvet case. She then dressed very beautifully to go
out, but when it came to putting on her hat she couldn't. It requires
fairly good spirits to put on a modern hat and veil. She thought she
would go downstairs and think. Then she saw Bertie's green motor at the
door. She hesitated a moment about letting him come in; then she thought
that she would tell him about it, and according to how he behaved, would
test him once for all. If he didn't do exactly the right thing, she
would never see him again.

As Wilton came in, all the fluent conversation and compliments, the
gossip and jokes he had been saving up to tell her, died away on his
lips. He saw she had been crying. He sat down further away than usual,
and said--

"Don't tell me if you'd rather not. I'll go away, shall I? I'm quite
sure you're not in the mood for me."

She said, "No, don't go."

There was a moment's silence.

"What was the party like last night at the Harpers?" she then asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," he answered.

"But you must have been there? I didn't tell you I'd changed my mind
about going. I meant to, and then at the last minute something rather
dreadful happened, and I stayed at home."

"Yes, I'm almost sure I was there," said Wilton thoughtfully. "I think I
must have gone if I expected to see you. But I don't remember anything
about it. I must look in the _Morning Post_ and see if I'm in the