_ Did he come to take you sleigh-riding again?"

"He said nothing about sleigh-riding."

"The snow is all slush down in the city. What did he want to see you
for, then?" said Madge, turning round upon her sister, while at the
same time she was endeavouring to extricate her head from her bonnet,
which was caught upon a pin.

"He had something to say to me," Lois answered, trembling with an odd
sort of excitement.

"What?--Lois, not _that?_" cried Madge, stopping with her bonnet only
half off her head. But Lois nodded; and Madge dropped herself into the
nearest chair, making no further effort as regarded the bonnet.

"Lois!--What did you say to him?"

"What could I say to him?"

"Why, two or three things, _I_ should think. If it was I, I should
think so."

"There can be but one answer to such a question. It must be yes or no."

"I am sure that's two to choose from. Have you gone and said yes to
that man?"

"Don't you like him?" said Lois, with a furtive smile, glancing up at
her sister now from under lowered eyelids.

"Like him! I never saw the man yet, that I liked as well as my liberty."

"Liberty!"

"Yes. Have you forgotten already what that means? O Lois! have you said
yes to that man? Why, I am always afraid of him, every time I see him."

"_Afraid_ of him?"

"Yes. I get over it after he has been in the room a while; but the next
time I see him it comes back. O Lois! are you going to let him have
you?"

"Madge, you are talking most dreadful nonsense. You never were afraid
of anybody in your life; and of him least of all."

"Fact, though," said Madge, beginning at her bonnet again. "It's the
way his head is set on his shoulders, I suppose. If I had known what
was happening, while I was listening to Mme. Cisco's screeching!"--

"You couldn't have helped it."

"And now, now, actually you belong to somebody else! Lois, when are you
going to be married?"

"I don't know."

"Not for a great while? Not _soon_, at any rate?"

"I don't know. Mr. Dillwyn wishes--"

"And are you going to do everything he wishes?"

"As far as I can," said Lois, with again a rosy smile and glance.

"There's the call to luncheon!" said Madge. "People must eat, if
they're ever so happy or ever so unhappy. It is one of the disgusting
things about human nature. I just wish he wasn't going to be here.
Well--come along!"

Madge went ahead till she reached the drawing-room door; there she
suddenly paused, waved herself