'I think,' I answered slowly, while my heart leapt up as a salmon does at a fly, and I honestly tried not to feel so disloyally, unmistakably happy, 'that we'll do a little modern poetry, and that we'll begin with "The Return of the Wanderer."' I was leading her slowly downstairs, when Mrs. Ellmer's high piercing voice, coming towards us as the door of the housekeeper's room was opened, suddenly broke upon our ears. 'Well, I must go and congratulate him. I'm sure I always said that a nice wife was just the one thing he wanted.' 'Who's that?' asked Babiole quite sharply. 'Why, don't you know your own mother's voice?' 'Yes, yes, but who is she talking about? Who is it wants a nice wife?' 'I suppose most of us do, only we are not all so lucky as a certain young actor I know,' I said brightly; but my heart beat violently, and I felt Babiole's fingers trembling on my arm. She asked me no more questions, and I took her into the dining-room to admire the roses with which we had loaded the table. But when her mother joined us a moment later, brimming over with excitement about my engagement, Babiole nodded and said, 'Yes, mother, I've heard all about it,' and offered no congratulations. As for me, the remembrance of my _fiancée_ this evening threw me into a reckless mood. 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we--marry Miss Farington' was the kind of thought that lay at the bottom of my deliberate abandonment of myself to the enthralling pleasure the mere presence of this little white human thing had power to give me. Mrs. Ellmer and I were very lively both at dinner and afterwards in the study, where we all went merely to look at To-to, but where Babiole insisted on our staying. She did not talk much; but on the other hand, her face never for a moment fell into that listless sadness which had pained and shocked me so much in London. When at last she was so evidently tired out that we had reluctantly to admit that she must go to bed, she let her mother see that she wanted to speak to me, and remained behind to say-- 'I want to see this lady you are going to marry. For I'm not going to congratulate you till I see whether she is sweet, and beautiful, and noble, and worthy to--worship you, Mr. Maude,' she ended earnestly. 'She is a very nice girl,' said I, playing with To-to with unconscious roughness, which the monkey resented. 'A nice girl for _you_!' she said scornfully. 'She must be more than that, or I will forbid the banns. I was afraid you would think it strange that I didn't say something about it,' she went on, after a moment's pause, rather nervously; 'but when I heard it--just now--I prayed about it--I did indeed--just as I used to for myself and Fabian.' A fear evidently struck her here that the reminiscence was ill-omened, for she hastened to add, 'But then I didn't deserve to be happy--and you do. Good-night,' she concluded abruptly, and drawing her hot hand with nervous haste out of mine she left me.