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was absorbed in his Idea. His Idea had made him absolutely impervious to Philippa. All this Straker saw. He made himself very attentive to Miss Tarrant that evening, and after dinner, at her request, he walked with her on the terrace. Over the low wall they could see Furnival in the rose garden with Miss Milner. They saw him give her a rose, which the young girl pinned in the bosom of her gown. "Aren't they wonderful?" said Philippa. "Did you ever see anything under heaven so young?" "She is older than he is," said Straker. "Do you remember when he wanted to give _me_ one and I wouldn't take it?" "I have not forgotten." The lovers wandered on down the rose garden and Philippa looked after them. Then she turned to Straker. "I've had a long talk with him. I've told him that he must settle down and that he couldn't do a better thing for himself than----" She paused. "Well," said Straker, "it _looks_ like it, doesn't it?" "Yes," said Philippa. "It looks like it." They talked of other things. "I am going," she said presently, "to ask Miss Milner to stay with me." Straker didn't respond. He was thinking deeply. Her face was so mysterious, so ominous, that yet again he wondered what she might be up to. He confessed to himself that this time he didn't know. But he made her promise to go on the river with him the next day. They were to start at eleven-thirty. At eleven Fanny came to him in the library. "She's gone," said Fanny. "She's left a little note for you. She said you'd forgive her, you'd understand." "Do _you_?" said Straker. "She said she was going to be straight and see this thing through." "What thing?" "Furny's thing. What else do you suppose she's thinking of? She said she'd only got to lift her little finger and he'd come back to her; she said there ought to be fair play. Do you see? She's gone away--to save him." "Good Lord!" said Straker. But he saw. XI It was nearly twelve months before he heard again from Miss Tarrant. Then one day she wrote and asked him to come and have tea with her at her flat in Lexham Gardens. He went. His entrance coincided with the departure of Laurence Furnival and a lady whom Philippa introduced to him as Mrs. Laurence, whom, she said, he would remember under another name. Furnival's wife was younger than ever and more like Nora Viveash and more different. When the door closed on them Philippa turned to him with her radia
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