"She would be so pleased that she would find it difficult to keep the fact to herself." "That's just it." "What a pity though that she will never know," said Rachel. "Perhaps sometime after its publication I may tell her, but not now. But can you manage to keep her from disturbing me without hurting her? A woman can generally do this kind of thing better than a man. I would not hurt my dear mother for the world if I could help it." They neither of them heard the door open and then softly close again, and Luke never knew that his mother had turned away from his study murmuring: "Luke was talking to Rachel about me! His mother! I never thought he would talk to anyone about his mother." The pain was almost too much to bear. [Illustration] CHAPTER XXVII. RACHEL'S GARDEN PARTY. Rachel noticed a marked difference in her mother-in-law's behaviour to her after finding her talking with Luke in his study. She was perplexed as to its cause and it worried her. Moreover, she found that her efforts to keep her out of the study during Luke's busy time there were unavailing, and she came to the conclusion that it would hurt her feelings less if Luke mentioned the subject to her himself. Her pride would not be wounded. She told Luke so. But, manlike, he felt that to burn Pussy's paws was by far the better plan. But Rachel, unwilling to give him a hint as to his mother's strained feelings in respect to herself, determined to do nothing in the matter unless she found a particularly favourable moment in which to speak. Having suffered herself in the past from jealousy she began to suspect that the same wretched enemy to all happiness was attacking her mother-in-law; and instead of despising her for giving way, she felt the situation to be particularly pathetic. Since the day on which Luke heard of his wife's delicacy, he had been filled with anxiety about her and was continually thinking of her comfort and good. In fact, Rachel's health was now his first concern, and plans which would in any way give her too much to do or think about were put on one side at once, even though they might be suggested by his mother. His wife and his book were at present the absorbing interests in his life and everything else fell into the background.