or her desertion."

Without transition, Estelle went back to the story of the past night.
"You can imagine there wasn't any more sleep for that spell. I got up,
and we went to her room, where she had all the lights lighted and was in
the middle of packing her trunk. She only took one, and about a quarter
of her things. Gerald's going to design wonderful costumes for her, the
style he prefers. I could see she's ready to do just anything to please
him. I'd already noticed how she'd altered her way of doing her hair,
but wasn't smart enough to recognize the signs!... While she was at work
packing she planned for my summer,--that I'm to invite Mademoiselle
Durand to go traveling with me, so I can improve my French at the same
time as give that poor hard-working creature a real vacation and treat.
Then when they go to Venice, she wants me to join them, and the three of
us have a regular jamboree. Then next winter, after I've got home, she
wants me to go to Colorado to visit the Grand Canyon and see the great
sights of my native country before settling down again in East Boston.
She made me a present of Ami."

"Ami?"

"I've changed his name from Busteretto. Don't you like it better? Little
Tweetums! He's the only darling I've got left!" She pressed a kiss on
the warm top of his head. "She made me a present of all the clothes and
things she wasn't taking with her. She made me a present of everything
in this house that we didn't find in it when we took it--turned it all
over to me to do what I please with. And I'm sure I don't know what I
shall do with it all unless I set up a store. Anything you see and think
you'd like to have, please say so."

"She gave you all these things? Do you mean it?" asked Leslie, surprised
despite what she had already known of Aurora.

"Yes, and along with the things, of course, the responsibility of
settling up everything, dismissing the servants, sending Livvy back to
New York. Such a job! Luckily, there's no hurry; the lease doesn't
expire until October. When you came I'd been sort of looking round. I
was just wondering what to do about this Fountain of Love. Nell paid a
frightful lot for these four panels. I'd been trying to see if they
could be carefully peeled off and the wall behind restored, and while I
was looking the sight of that winter scene broke me all up. It doesn't
tell a very cheerful tale, you know, this series of pictures. After what
I'd just been through, saying good-by to t