tion; he would deprive himself
of one of his greatest pleasures rather than Cyril should be pained by
the sight of her handwriting.

'I will not write,' she said in a low voice. 'Now I must go down to
Gage.'

But he detained her.

'Wait a moment; there is no hurry, is there? And it is my turn to ask
questions. I want to know what you are going to do with yourself during
my absence?'

And there was no mistaking his anxiety, though he strove to hide it.

'I shall do as usual,' she returned tranquilly. 'Mollie will come to me
every morning, and we shall work hard at our lessons, and----'

But he interrupted her.

'Are you sure that your father will approve of Mollie's visits?' he
asked.

'There is no reason why he should disapprove,' she replied quickly; 'but
of course I shall speak to him. There can be no possible reason why my
poor Mollie should be punished. Father would not wish me to go to the
Gray Cottage, and, indeed, I should not wish it myself; but there can be
no objection to Mollie coming here.'

'Perhaps not; and, after all, it will not be for long.'

'No, it will not be for long; so I must do my best for her. Do not
trouble about me, Michael; I shall be as busy as possible. I am not
going away with Gage, as she wishes. I tell her I would rather stay
quietly with father and mother--perhaps next holidays--but we need not
talk of that.'

'But you will be very dull.'

'No, indeed, I shall have too much to do--at least, I do not mean to
think whether I am dull or not; but, Michael, I shall depend for a great
deal of my comfort on your letters.'

Then he knew that the burden of her lover's unhappiness was very heavy
upon her, but that she would not willingly speak of it even to him.

'I will tell you all that there is to tell. If you do not hear from me,
it will be because there is nothing to say;' and with these words he let
her go.

He did not speak to her again that evening; for though Mr. Harcourt had
taken his departure, Geraldine had remained, with the amiable intention
of cheering her sister. If she did not quite succeed in her mission, it
was for no want of effort on Audrey's part, who, as usual, did her best
for everyone. But more than once Michael detected a weary look in her
eyes, that told him that she would fain have been left alone. 'But that
is the last thing that Gage and Harcourt would ever do,' he said to
himself, with a shade of bitterness, as he saw the gentleness and
patience