years were committed to Agriculture or
Bookmaking, and the younger ones to attendance on Beauty at the Flower
Show. Poor Adrian Torrens!--there was no doubt he had been forgotten.
But he was not going to admit the slightest concern about that. "Go away
to your Von, darling Stupid!" said he. "And turn head over heels in her
and wallow. Do you want to be the death of me? Do you want to throw me
back when I'm such a credit to Mrs. Bailey and Dr. Nash?" Irene had her
doubts--but there!--wasn't Gretchen going to marry an Herr Professor and
be a Frau when she went back to Berlin, and would she ever see her
again? Moreover, Gwen said to her:--"He won't be alone if he's
downstairs in the drawing-room. Some of the women are sure to stop. It's
too hot for old Lady Cumberworld to go out. I heard her say so."

"_She'll_ be no consolation for him," said Irene.

"No--that she won't! But unless there's someone else there she'll have
Inez--you've seen the Spanish _dame-de-compagnie_?--and _she'll_ enjoy a
flirtation with your brother. He'll speak Spanish to her, and she'll
sing Spanish songs. _He_ won't hurt for a few hours."

So Tom Kettering drove Irene away in the gig, and Adrian was guided
downstairs to an empty hall by Mrs. Bailey at four o'clock, so as to get
a little used to the room before anyone should return. Prophecy depicted
Normal Society coming back to tea, and believed in itself. Achilles
sanctioned his master's new departure by his presence, accompanying him
to the drawing-room. This dog was not only tolerated but encouraged
everywhere. Dogs are, when their eyes are pathetic, their coats
faultless, and their compliance with household superstitions
unhesitating.

"Anybody in sight, Mrs. Bailey?"

"Nobody yet, Mr. Torrens."

"_Speriamo!_ Perhaps there's a piano in the room, Mrs. Bailey?"

"There's two. One's stood up against the wall shut. The other's on three
legs in the middle of the room." That one was to play upon, she
supposed, the other to sing to.

"If you will be truly obliging--you always are, you know--and conduct me
to the one on three legs in the middle of the room, I will play you an
air from Gluck's 'Orfeo,' which I am sure you will enjoy.... Oh yes--I
can do without any music-books because I have played it before, not
infrequently...."

"I meant to set upon." In fact, Mrs. Bailey regarded this as the primary
purpose of music-books; and so it was, at the home of her niece, who
could play quite ni