At one o'clock the rattling of gay, light laughter was heard on the stairs, and Lady Ursula, accompanied by my two relatives--for by these names I was pleased to designate the Valentines--entered. "We have brought lunch," said Lady Ursula; "a delicious basketful-- containing all kinds of good things. Rupert must open it. Well, Rosamund, what rosy cheeks! Have you found the will?" "No," I said. "Please, Lady Ursula--" "Well, what does this most pleading of pleases mean?" "We are not going to lunch in this room," I said. "Why not? It is a charming room to lunch in. Oh, what a love of a cloth! I must open it. See the delicacy of this ground, and these fairy stitches, and that embroidery. We will spread it over the centre Queen Anne table, and put our lunch on it." "You will not," I said. "The cloth does not belong to us. We have no right to desecrate it." "Desecrate! Honour, you mean, Rosamund. Oh! Rupert, Rupert," continued Lady Ursula, turning to her future husband, "I do pray and trust that you will be discovered to be Cousin Geoffrey's heir. I absolutely pine for that cloth. I long for it as intensely as I used to long for Rosamund's ruby ring." Lady Ursula's volatile spirits had a depressing effect on me. I was determined, however, not to yield to her whims. We had no right to spoil Cousin Geoffrey's Chamber of Myths by dining in it. I took my friends down to the great drawing-room, and there we spread our repast; truth to tell, we had a merry time. Afterwards we all returned to the Chamber of Myths. "You alone have the right to continue the search, Miss Lindley," said my cousin Tom Valentine. "I think I had better go on with it," I said, steadily. "I have a certain plan marked out in my own mind, and if any one interfered with me now I should only feel puzzled." "You must certainly continue the search," said Captain Valentine. "And we will look at these loves of windows," said Lady Ursula. My three visitors--for in one sense I considered them my visitors--went to the far end of the room and left me in comparative peace. With all my heart I wished them away, but I had not the courage to desire them to go. I felt also that I had not the right. The search, however, was now becoming irksome. The Eastern treasures no longer exercised a spell over me. I was anxious for the daylight to wane--for the time to arrive when I might re-lock the drawers, and return the keys to Mr Gray.