r voice trembled a
little.

Lord Evelyn stopped in his walk and listened.

"I'm sorry, Lucy," said Denis, throwing away his cigar-end. "I don't want
to say anything against Peter to you. But ... one must judge by facts,
you know. I don't mean that Peter means any harm; but, as I say, he's
weak. I'm fond of Peter, you know; I wish to goodness he wouldn't play
the fool as he does, mixing himself up with his precious relations and
helping them in their idiotic schemes for swindling money out of
people--but there it is; he will do it; and as long as he does it I don't
feel moved to have much to do with him. I should send him money if he
asked me personally, of course, even if I knew it would only go into his
brother's pocket; but I'm not going to do it at his sister-in-law's
command. If you ask me whether I feel inclined to help Hilary Margerison
and his wife, my answer is simply no I don't. They're merely scum; and
why should one have anything to do with scum?"

Lucy looked at him silently for a while. Then she said slowly, "I see.
Yes, I see you wouldn't want to, of course. They _are_ scum. And you're
not. But I am, I think. I belong to the same sort of people they do. I
could swindle and cheat too, I expect. It's the people at the bottom who
do that. They're my relations, you see, not yours."

"My dear Lucy, only Peter is your relation."

"Peter and Thomas. And I count the rest too, because they're Peter's. So
let me do all that is to be done, Denis. Don't you bother. I'll take them
money."

"Let them alone, Lucy. You'd better, you know. What's the good?"

"I don't know," said Lucy. "None, I expect. None at all; because Peter
wouldn't take it from me without you."

She came a little nearer him, and put her hand on his knee like a wistful
puppy.

"Denis," she said, "I wish _you_ would. They know already that I care.
But I wish _you_ would. Peter'd like you to. He'd be more pleased than if
I did; much more. Peter cares for you and me and Thomas extraordinarily
much; and you can't compare carings, but the way he cares for you is the
most wonderful of all, I believe. If you went to him ... if you showed
him you cared ... he'd take it from you. He wouldn't take it from me
without you, because he'd suspect you weren't wanting him to have it.
Denis, won't you go to Peter, as you used to do long ago, before he was
in disgrace and poor, before he was scum? Can't you, Denis?"

Denis had coloured faintly. He always did