"You are all dears," said Tilly in a clear voice, "and I love you for the way you have stood by me to-day; but I want to speak to the others just now." She took a step forward towards the Mainwarings, who were grouped beside the tea-table. But before she could speak, Dicky, who had been hovering silently on the outer wing of his own party, crossed the floor and joined her. "I’ll come and stand over here, Tilly," he said, "if you don’t mind. There’s a nasty draught in that corner." Tilly smiled faintly. "I would rather you did n’t," she said, with the suspicion of a tremor in her voice. "Please go over there." Dicky responded by standing-at-ease, military fashion. "Carry on," he said briefly. "Please, Dicky!" urged Tilly, "It only makes it harder for me." Dicky glanced at her white face, and retired one pace backward. "That is my limit," he said. Meanwhile Lady Adela had come to the conclusion that all this was very emotional and undignified. "Miss Welwyn," she enquired, "what does this mean?" "I will tell you," said Tilly. "But first of all I must say one thing. I did not try to trap your son, as you seem to think. We fell--we came to care for one another quite naturally. I made no attempt to catch him. I knew nothing whatever about him. It--it just happened." She turned wistfully to Dicky. "Did n’t it?" she asked. Dicky nodded his head gravely. "It just happened," he said. "And since we cared for one another--or thought we did"--continued Tilly with a little choke, "it never came into my head that anything else could matter. But last Saturday, when I went to stay at your house, and saw your grand ways and your grand servants, and all the commotion you made about Members of Parliament, and county families, and all that--well, I began to see rocks ahead. I felt common. My courage began to fail. I began to be afraid that you would not take kindly to the Family--" "It was n’t you that was afraid, dearie," said a respectful voice behind her. "It was the Family." "I saw, too, Lady Adela," continued Tilly, "that _you_ were against me--dead against me--and that as soon as you got hold of a decent-excuse I should be bundled out of your son’s life, like--like an entanglement. That put my back up. I had meant to be perfectly straight and unpretentious with you, but when I saw what you were after, I determined to fight. So I have deceived you." "We all have," murmured a loyal chorus.