Geoff left a few parting directions to a reluctant, but almost entirely sober, neighbor. When they were in the street Muriel waited for him to explain; but he did not explain. It was a habit of his not to, possibly owing to his professional desire to steer clear of the definite. Muriel was too astonished, hurt and indignant to remain silent for long. She stopped. “Good-night, Dr. Grant,” she said with an icy formality. The doctor’s eyes twinkled. “What’s the matter?” he asked. She looked at him with a searching angry glance. “Your manner has not pleased me to-night,” she replied quietly; “I should prefer to return alone.” “I am sorry if I have displeased you, Miss Dallerton,” said Geoff with his mouth ominously twitching. Was it imaginable that she couldn’t see he wanted to kiss her? As she stood there, aggrieved, defiant, serious, her eyes like two points of light under her heavy hair, the bright color in her cheeks, the whole daring absurdity of _her_ seriously facing life there in a horrible alley instead of the delicate luxury of a West-End drawing-room, he could have laughed at the inappropriateness of it. “It’s too cold for an apology,” he ventured more gravely. “I will see you about this later, if I may. Please let me see you home first.” She did not want to seem girlishly tempestuous, so she assented to his last request, but in bitter silence walked with him to the club. She did not give him her hand as he said “Good-night.” She wanted tremendously to refuse to allow him to call, to cut short their acquaintance, to never set eyes on him again. But she felt an absurd desire to cry brought on by the physical strain of the past two hours, so that she said nothing. Yet when she was in her room she would not cry. She forced the tears back, and remembered how he had laughed at her! The utter careless brutality of his whole behavior! And Cynthia could be so foolish as to imagine he cared for her! She herself had never for an instant dreamed it—she refused to admit it—it was impossible! It never occurred to her in the least that Geoff had been trying to rouse her courage through opposition, and to control his own too tender feelings by a mask of rudeness. Even if it had occurred to her she would probably have been just as angry, for what she was really indignant with was his strength and her weakness, and she could find no excuses for that. CHAPTER XXXIX “The best Impart the gift of seeing to the rest.”