ld days
George and Godfrey had shared between them.

Blinking away his tears, he took up the pad, and carried it down the
lighted passage to his own room. There he sat down, and with a pencil
stump extracted from his waistcoat pocket, he wrote:

Dear Mum,

This is from Timmy. I hope you don't still feel the pierce.

Your affectionate son,
Timothy Godfrey Radmore Tosswill.

He put the bit of paper into a grubby envelope in which he had for some
time kept some used French stamps; then, licking down the flap, he left
his room and went into his mother's, where he propped up the envelope on
the fat pin-cushion lying on her dressing-table, remembering the while
that so had been propped an anonymous letter written many years before
by a vengeful nursery maid, who had been dismissed at Nanna's wish.

* * * * *

Monday morning opened badly for more than one inmate of Old Place. Dolly
and her lover had discovered with extreme surprise that one hundred
pounds would only achieve about a fifth of that which they considered
must be done before his vicarage would be fit for even the most
reasonable of brides. With Dolly this had produced an extremely
disagreeable fit of bad temper--of temper indeed so bad that it had been
noticed by Godfrey Radmore, who had followed Janet into the drawing-room
after breakfast to ask what was the matter.

Jack Tosswill had gone off as early as he felt he decently could go, to
The Trellis House, only to find its mistress gone--and gone, which
naturally much increased his disappointment and anger, only ten minutes
before his arrival! He had interviewed both servants, they only too
willing, for his infatuation was by now known to the whole village. But
what they had to say gave him no comfort--indeed, it was almost exactly
what the house-parlourmaid had said last week, when Enid had gone off to
town, leaving no address behind her. This time, however, she had said she
would telephone from town.

As he was turning away, feeling sick at heart, the cook suddenly
vouchsafed the information that her mistress had left a letter for Mrs.
Tosswill, and that The Trellis House odd man, on his way back from the
station, where he had gone with Mrs. Crofton, for she had taken two
large trunks this time, would deliver it at Old Place.

But when he reached home the letter had not yet been delivered, and Jack,
half consciously desiring to visit his misery on someone else,