r flushed slightly. He had supposed that he and Thomas were also to
live in the unspeakable Dublin.

"Oh, we haven't quite made up our minds. I must consult Thomas about it."

"But," broke in Peggy, "of course you're coming with us, my dear. What do
you mean? You're not surely going to desert us now, Peter?"

Peter glanced at Hilary. Hilary said, pushing his hair, with his restless
gesture, from his forehead, "Really, Peggy, we can't drag Peter about
after us all our lives; it's hardly fair on him to involve him in all
our disasters, when he has more than enough of his own."

"Indeed and he has. Peter's mischancier than you are, Hilary, on the
whole, and I will not leave him and Tommy to get lost or broken by
themselves. Don't be so silly, Peter; of course you're coming with us."

"I think," said Peter, "that Thomas and I will perhaps stay in London.
You see, _I_ can't, probably, get work on 'The Nationalist' and it's
doubtful what I could do in Dublin. I suppose I can get work of a sort
in London; enough to provide Thomas with milk, though possibly not all
from one cow."

"I daresay. And who'd look after the mite, I'd like to know, while you're
earning his milk?"

"Oh, the landlady, I should think. Everyone likes Thomas; he's remarkably
popular."

Afterwards Hilary said to Peggy, "Really, Peggy, I see no reason why
Peter should be dragged about with us in the future. The joint _menage_
has not, in the past, been such a success that we need want to perpetuate
it. In fact, though, of course, it is pleasant to have Peter in the
house...."

"Indeed it is, the darling," put in Peggy.

"One can't deny that disasters have come upon us extraordinarily fast
since he came to live with us in Venice two years ago. First he
discovered things that annoyed him in my private affairs, which was
extremely disagreeable for all of us, and really he was rather
unnecessarily officious about that; in fact, I consider that it was owing
largely to the line he took that things reached their final very trying
_denouement_. Since then disaster upon disaster has come upon us; Peter's
unfortunate marriage, and consequent serious expenses, including the
child now left upon his hands (really, you know, that was an exceedingly
stupid step that Peter took; I tried to dissuade him at the time, but of
course it was no use). And he is so very frequently ill; so am I, you
will say"--(Peggy didn't, because Hilary wasn't, as a matter of fact, ill