"It's no good looking crossly at me," she said when like a beautiful ghost Monica came into the dining-room. "I've explained everything to Mother." "I'm very glad you have," Monica answered austerely; and because she would not fall in with her own forgiving mood, Pauline took the gentle revenge of not expostulating with her that evening when there was an opportunity. Nor would she let Margaret refer to the subject. Her sisters were very adorable, but they knew nothing about love and it would only make them more anxious to lay down laws if she showed that she was aware of their disapproval. She would be particularly charming to them both this evening, but her revenge must be never to mention the incident to either. The principal result of her mother's rebuke had been to drive away Pauline's anger with Guy and the jealousy of his friend. All she thought now was of the time when next they would meet and when she would be able to laugh with him over the absurdity of other people pretending to know anything about the ways of love or of lovers like themselves. She decided also that, as a penance for having been angry with Guy, she would take care to enquire the very first thing about the mystery of the inscription on the window. Oh, but how she hoped his friend had not come to stay at Plashers Mead, for that would surely spoil this Summer of theirs. The next afternoon, when Pauline went into the paddock, Guy was waiting for her on the mill-stream, her place in the canoe all ready as usual. "Have you found your friend?" she asked, faithful to her resolution. "Not a sign of him," said Guy. "What on earth he came for, I can't think. Miss Peasey never saw him and of course she never heard him. He must have been bicycling. However, don't let's waste time in talking about Michael Fane." Pauline smiled at him with all her heart. How wonderful Guy was to reward her so richly for the little effort it had cost to enquire about his friend. "I've been prospecting this morning," he announced as they shot along in the direction of the bridge. "They haven't started to make hay on the other side, so I'm going to paddle you furiously upstream until we find some secret and magical meadow where we can hide and forget about yesterday's fiasco." They glided underneath the bridge and left it quivering in the empty sunlight behind them; they swept silently over the mill-pool while Pauline held her breath. Then the banks closed in upon their canoe and Guy fought his way against the swifter running of the river, on and on, on and on between the long grasses of the uncut meadows, on and on, on and on past the waterfall where the Abbey stream joined the main stream and gave it a wider and easier course. "Phew, it's hot," Guy exclaimed. "Sprinkle me with water." She splashed him laughing; and he seized her hand to kiss her dabbled fingers.