I was jealous of her, and however much I might upbraid myself for such a weakness I was unable to control it. Woman-like, she very soon discovered the fact, and I was somewhat at her mercy. Sooner or later, she must inevitably learn all about Miss Gascoyne’s existence, and I was glad that Grahame had broken the ice. “She is very beautiful, is she not?” “I believe she is considered lovely.” “Then I can’t understand your not having mentioned her.” There was a touch of asperity in Sibella’s voice. “Why should I mention her?” “Because as far as I can make out you are there constantly.” “It is to my advantage to make myself agreeable to Mr. and Mrs. Gascoyne, and,” I added hastily, for I never appeared as acting from interested motives more than I could help, “I am very fond of them.” “And very fond of Miss Gascoyne.” Sibella’s was not the nature to exercise much control over rising jealousy. “What nonsense! As far as that goes, you would not have much to complain of if I were to marry Miss Gascoyne.” She looked at me with frightened eyes. “If I thought you meant that——” she faltered. “Well, you must remember that you and I might have fulfilled our natural destiny and married.” Sibella laughed in a not altogether nice way. “That would have been a very pleasant arrangement. We should have been so comfortably off, shouldn’t we?” It gave me an advantage to pretend that it was a cause of eternal grief to me that we were not married, so I answered: “Well, I’ve no doubt we could have scraped along.” “Scraped along!” And she laughed again, but she was not nearly so amused as I was at hearing myself use such an expression. “I can’t imagine either of us, Israel, scraping along. We should have hated each other in a week.” “We should never have done that, Sibella. We have a sub-consciousness of each other’s weaknesses, and we know each other’s good points better than anyone else could. We should always love each other.” “I think, Israel, if I had not been so sure that you loved me, I should not have risked marrying Lionel. I could never have believed that good looks could bore one so soon.” “I believe that good-looking people who are stupid get on one’s nerves sooner than plain people who are stupid. The latter do feel that they must make an effort. The former are supremely well contented, and seldom take the trouble to make themselves agreeable.” “Lionel is not only stupid, he is a little vulgar.” Sibella’s frank recognition of the faults of her belongings had always been in striking contrast to Grahame’s loyalty, which would allow no disparagement of anyone he was allied to. “I suppose we shall settle down one of these fine days,” continued Sibella. “We shall get tired of scheming for interviews, and plotting and planning our lives so as to make them fit with a secret.” “My dear Sibella, I had no idea you were such a philosopher. I thought your reflections never carried you further than the moment.”