He knew that he had taken a mean advantage of Gay, and was deeply humiliated, not only in his honour, but his pride, for by way of being a vain man, the simultaneous and utter indifference of both girls, hit him hard. Lossie had only wanted him for his fortune, going to extremest lengths to obtain it--Gay had wanted neither him nor his money, and accepted him only in a fit of passionate anger against Chris, of which she had instantly repented. Yet there was a tenacity of purpose, as of love, about the man, that forbade his throwing up the game. As at every turn Lossie and Captain Conant seemed to cross his path, the one all beauty and (affected) happiness, the other all grin and possessiveness, a sombre rage, with more of heartache in it than he imagined, seized him. For many a man only misses a slighted love when, barred from his own hearth-fires, he turns in his extremity to it, only to find cold ashes, and Carlton in those days felt very chilly and lonely indeed. Aunt Lavinia had been anything but well lately. One day, speaking to Gay of the Professor, who, like most doctors, was very nervous about himself, she said: "Ah, my dear, when we are young, we only _fear_ we have complaints, when we are old, we hope so." Gay looked at her, startled. "Do you find life such a grind, auntie?" she said, rather falteringly, knowing whose fault it was that "Laddie" was riding more recklessly than ever, and how Lavinia suffered over it, for he was the dearest thing in the whole world to her, as perhaps _now_ she was the dearest thing to him. "Well, my dear," said Lavinia quaintly, "life goes on with ups and downs, with long oases of worry, stagnation, and brief thrills of pleasure, until one day, we suddenly awaken to find people packing up in all directions--some have gone without our noting it, or saying farewell, others are in too great a hurry to think of us. Then in a panic, we decide to call together our friends of long ago, to come and make merry with us, and half the invitations come back to us, with 'gone away' scrawled across them. Then we rub our eyes, and realise that our going away time is near also, and henceforth we don't trouble much about the affairs of life, only how to get ourselves off decently, and in order." Gay stooped and kissed the sweet little face, but was far from understanding _then_. Rensslaer had been away during the autumn, hunting at Spa, then he had been shooting grizzlies in one place, and lions in another, but with late November, he was back again, and the first thing he did was to persuade Gay and the fairly convalescent Professor, to come and stay with him at Elsinore, where Frank spent his whole time in the library, save when dragged out for a drive. Gay was abroad all day, either hunting with Rensslaer, or about those stables of whose inmates she never wearied, and once she found her way alone to St. Swithin's Court, going soft-footed over the house that was to have been hers--hers and Chris's....