! What a
delicious name! And _you're_ delicious! It's a great comfort to
understand why I was never really in love with either of those Angels.
You are not an angel--but I'm going to be madly in love with you. I feel
it coming on. I shall adore you."

"Nonsense! A man mustn't be in love with his aunt."

"I strip you of your aunthood. But I can't give you up to _The Meteor_.
If you go to America, you must personally conduct Ronald Lester Starr.
You oughtn't to mind. You're used to looking after him."

I took a step toward her; but she stooped down and framed the ugly pansy
of Tibe's face between her little hands.

"Tibe, what do you say to him?" she asked.

Tibe wagged his tail.

While he was wagging, the others came in. Their looks of radiant new
happiness changed to surprise at sight of my companion. In spite of the
dress nobody recognized the pretty girl with the wonderful eyes and
crisp masses of sparkling auburn hair.

Yesterday I would have sacrificed anything, up to Tibe himself, to avoid
explanations, but now I enjoyed them.

Everybody laughed and exclaimed (except Robert), and Brederode helped me
out so nobly that I would have given him Nell with my own hand if she
had not already made him that present.

"It's like one of Nell's stories," cried Phyllis. "Only she used to love
to make hers end sadly."

"I should have died if this had ended sadly," Nell said frankly, holding
out both hands to Brederode, with a lovely look in her eyes.

"So should I, I'm sure," said Phyllis. "Oh, isn't it glorious that we
all adore each other so!"

"Do we?" I asked the _Meteor_ lady.

She smiled. "I suppose it would be a pity to make a jarring note in the
chorus."

While she was in that mood I took out the ruby ring which she had said
ought to be an engagement ring.

"With this ring I thee----"

"No!"

"Engage thee as my perpetual chaperon."

This time she did not draw back her hand. And I kissed it as I slipped
on the ruby.

THE END

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chauffeur and the Chaperon, by
C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHAUFFEUR AND THE CHAPERON ***

***** This file should be named 21529.txt or 21529.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/5/2/21529/

Produced by Jennifer Sahmoun, Suzanne Shell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://