been far easier to her than to continue the deception; it was
the thought that she would not be acting fairly to her accomplice that
stayed her steps. Eleanor must be told first that she could not go on
with it, and their confession must be simultaneous. And, no doubt,
Eleanor would be as glad and as thankful as she would be to change back
into her proper self. Probably she, too, was finding the deception more
than she could bear, and would hail the news that they were to resume
their own identities with untold relief. But for one day more Margaret
must continue to be Eleanor, much as she disliked the thought. But it
would be only for one day more, she thought to herself encouragingly, and
then she would be able to hold up her head again and not fear that every
chance question was going to unmask her as a cheat and a fraud.

Although Margaret had originally planned to go and see Eleanor the day
after she had come to The Cedars, the days had so far slipped past
without her being able to do so. But now, as the children were going away
early on the morrow, there was nothing to prevent her from going to Windy
Gap as soon as she chose in the morning. And Margaret fell asleep that
night resolving to ask Mrs. Danvers' permission to go for a walk on the
downs directly after breakfast.

Not that Margaret need have feared that any obstacle would be placed in
the way of her following her own devices. The younger members of the
family seemed only too ready to let her do exactly as she chose, as long
as she did not expect them to entertain her. When she came down to
breakfast the next morning it was to find the big room empty save for
herself. All the young ladies and all the young gentlemen had, Martin
informed her, taken their breakfast to the foot of the cliffs that
morning.

"My dear," said Mrs. Danvers, when a little later Margaret went up to her
room to ask her permission to absent herself for the morning, "do
whatever you like. It is so nice of you not to be offended with my young
people for not taking you with them, but when I suggested it to Maud just
as they were ready to start at five o'clock this morning, she said it was
too late to wake you up then as they were just off. I said it was very
naughty of them not to have thought of you in time; but there it is, my
dear, they just forgot you."

"They just forgot me," Margaret repeated to herself as she went down the
drive, and she sighed rather sadly. But her spirits revi