Gilman walked over and looked at the fireplace critically. He read
the lines aloud, then he turned to Eileen.

"Why, that is perfectly beautiful," he said. "Let's duplicate it in our
home."

"You bungler!" scoffed Eileen.

"I think you're right," said Gilman reflectively, "exactly right. Of
course I would have no business copying Linda's special fireplace where
the same people would see it frequently; and if I had stopped to think a
second, I might have known that you would prefer tiling to field stone."

"Linda seems very busy tonight," said Eileen. "Perhaps we are bothering
her."

"Yes," said John, "we'll go at once. I had to run up to tell our good
news; and I wanted to tell you too, Linda dear, that I think both of us
misjudged Eileen the other day. You know, Linda, you have always dressed
according to your father's ideas, which were so much simpler and plainer
than the manner in which your mother dressed Eileen, that she merely
thought that you wished to continue in his way. She had no objection to
your having any kind of clothes you chose, if only you had confided in
her, and explained to her what you wanted."

Linda stood beside her table, one lean hand holding down the letter she
had been writing. She stood very still, but she was powerless to raise
her eyes to the face of either John or Eileen. Above everything she did
not wish to go any further in revealing Eileen to John Gilman. If he
knew what he knew and if he felt satisfied, after what he had seen, with
any explanation that Eileen could trump up to offer, Linda had no desire
to carry the matter further. She had been ashamed of what she already
had done. She had felt angry and dissatisfied with herself, so she stood
before them downcast and silent.

"And it certainly was a great joke on both of us," said John jovially,
"what we thought about that box of cigarettes, you know. They were a
prize given by a bridge club at an 'Ambassador' benefit for the Good
Samaritan Hospital. Eileen, the little card shark she is, won it, and
she was keeping it hidden away there to use as a gift for my birthday.
Since we disclosed her plans prematurely, she gave it to me at once, and
I'm having a great time treating all my friends."

At that instant Linda experienced a revulsion. Previously she had not
been able to raise her eyes. Now it would have been quite impossible to
avoid looking straight into Eileen's face. But Eileen had no intention
of meeting anyone's gaze