and
regarded Derrick thoughtfully.

"One conjecture, if you will allow me. May we say that the person at
Thexford Hall you most particularly wish to avoid is--Lord Heyton?"

Derrick, speechless for a moment, stared at him; then he nodded.

"Quite so," said Reggie, with an air of satisfaction. "Oh, I don't want
to know the reason; I just wanted my surmise confirmed. And, by George!
I commend your judgment; for, if there was ever an individual in this
world an honest man might wish to avoid, it is the gentleman I have
mentioned."

With this, he walked off; and Derrick sat for some time in a state of
amazement at the quaintness--and, be it added, the acuteness--of his new
acquaintance. Presently the landlord served him with a nice little meal,
which it is to be feared Derrick did not appreciate; for he scarcely
knew what he was eating.

The time lagged intolerably; and long before seven o'clock, he had found
the little wood, and was pacing up and down it, his heart beating
furiously, as he listened for footsteps; they came presently, and he
drew behind a tree, that, for a moment or two, unseen himself, his eyes
might rest on the girl he had seen but once, but whose form was
enshrined in his heart.

And presently she came; a slim, graceful figure in a plain white dress.
The evening was warm, and she had taken off her hat, and was swinging it
idly in her hand. When he saw her face distinctly, he noticed that it
was calm and serene; there was no expression of expectation in it; she
looked as if she were just strolling without any object. Pale beneath
his tan, Derrick stepped forward and raised his hat. Celia stopped dead
short, and looked at him for a moment with the ordinary expression of
surprise at the sudden appearance of a stranger; then she recognised him
and, all in a flash, her face changed. First, it was flooded with
colour; then it grew pale and her wide-open eyes held a look of
astonishment and some other emotion which went straight to Derrick's
heart and struck him dumb, so that he stood before her in silence. She
was the first to speak.

"You!" she murmured, with a little catch in her voice, her hand going to
her heart unconsciously.

"Yes," said Derrick, unsteadily. "Didn't he tell you?"

She shook her head.

"You mean Reggie Rex? No--he asked me to come here, and I thought it was
to meet him. I--I am rather startled."

She sank on to the bank, looking straight before her, and, still
bare-headed,