eturning to the charge, "to make
a bolt for it--and leave Olivia to shift for herself."

"If I remember rightly, the question you raised was not about you, but
about her. It wasn't as to whether you should marry her, but as to
whether she should marry you. I'm not disputing your point of view; I'm
only defending Olivia's. I can see three good reasons why you should
keep your word to her--"

"Indeed? And what are they?"

She told them off on her fingers. "First, as you can't do anything else.
Second--"

"Your first reason," he interrupted, hastily, as though he feared she
suspected him of not being convinced of it, "covers the whole ground. We
don't need the rest."

"Still," she insisted, "we might as well have them. Second, it's the
more prudent of two rather disadvantageous courses. Third--to quote your
own words--you're head over heels in love with her. It's easy to see
that now, and now another of these reasons is uppermost in your mind;
but it's also easy to see that none of them makes a conclusive appeal to
Olivia Guion. That's the point."

"The point is that I'm in love with her, and--if it's not claiming too
much--she with me. We've nothing else to consider."

"You haven't. She has. She has all the things I've just hinted at--and
ever so many more; besides which," she added, taking a detached, casual
tone, "I suppose she has to make up her mind one way or another as to
what she's going to do about Peter Davenant."

The crow's-foot wrinkles about his eyes deepened to a frown of inquiry.
"About Peter--who?"

Drusilla still affected a casual tone. "Oh? Hasn't she told you about
_him?_"

"Not a word. Who is he?"

She nodded in the direction of the house. "He's up-stairs with Cousin
Henry."

"The big fellow who was here just now? That--lumpkin?"

"Yes," she said, dryly, "that--lumpkin. It was he who gave Cousin Henry
the money to meet his liabilities."

"So he's the Fairy Prince? He certainly doesn't look it."

"No; he doesn't look it; but he's as much of a problem to Olivia as if
he did."

"Why? What has he to do with her?"

"Nothing, except that I suppose she must feel very grateful."

They reached the edge of the lawn where a hedge of dahlias separated
them from the neighboring garden.

"When you say that," he asked, "do you mean anything in particular?"

"I suppose I mean everything in particular. The situation is one in
which all the details count."

"And the bearing of this special d