l the
maid, who regarded her mistress with an admiration quite untinctured by
affection, appeared silently at the doorway.

In an astonishingly short space of time, she was dressed and downstairs,
presenting her usual sleek and polished appearance. Wickham was alone in
the drawing-room, and a suggestion that they should have another game of
piquet quickly drove him to the writing of some purely imaginary
business letters.

The coast was thus clear, but Riatt was still absent.

Nancy's methods were nothing if not direct. She rang the bell and when
the butler appeared she said:

"Where is Mr. Riatt?"

"In his room, madam."

"Dressing?"

"No, madam, he is dressed. Resting, I should say."

Nancy nodded her head once. "One moment," she said; and going to the
writing table she sat down and wrote quickly:

"I should like five minutes' conversation with you. Strange to say my
motive is altruistic--so altruistic that I feel I should sign myself 'Pro
Bono Publico,' instead of Nancy Almar. There is no one down here in the
drawing-room at the moment."

She put this in an envelope, sealed it with sealing wax (to the disgust
of the butler who found it hard enough, as it was, to keep up with all
that went on in the house) and told the man to send it at once to Mr.
Riatt's room.

She did not have long to wait. Riatt, with all the satisfaction in
his bearing of one who has just bathed, shaved and eaten, came down
to her at once.

"Good morning, Pro Bono Publico," he said, just glancing about to be sure
he was not overheard. "It was not necessary to put this interview on an
altruistic basis. I should have been glad to come to it, even if it had
been as a favor to you."

She looked at him with her hard, dark eyes. "Isn't that rather a reckless
way for a man in your situation to talk?"

"I was not aware that I was in a situation."

This was exactly the expression that she had wanted from him. It seemed
to come spontaneously, and could only mean that at least he was not
newly engaged.

She relaxed the tension of her attitude. "Are you really under the
impression that you're not?"

"I feel quite sure of it."

"You poor, dear, innocent creature."

"However," he went on, sitting down beside her on the wide, low sofa,
"something tells me that I shall enjoy extremely having you tell me all
about it."

Tucking one foot under her, as every girl is taught in the school-room it
is most unladylike to do, she turned and fa