He stopped in the middle of his question and looked intently at her. Her head was thrown back amongst the cushions of the chair, and she was fast asleep. Her hat was a little crushed and a little curl of fair hair had escaped and was hanging down over her forehead. There were undoubtedly tear stains upon her pretty face. Her plain, black jacket was half undone, and the gloves which she had taken off lay in her lap. Wolfenden's anger subsided at once. No wonder Selby had been perplexed. But Selby's perplexity was nothing to his own. She woke up suddenly and saw him standing there, traces of his amazement still lingering on his face. She looked at him, half-frightened, half-wistfully. The colour came and went in her cheeks--her eyes grew soft with tears. He felt himself a brute. Surely it was not possible that she could be acting! He spoke to her more kindly than he had intended. "What on earth has brought you up to town--and here--at this time of night? Is anything wrong at Deringham?" She sat up in the chair and looked at him with quivering lips. "N--no, nothing particular; only I have left." "You have left!" "Yes; I have been turned away," she added, piteously. He looked at her blankly. "Turned away! Why, what for? Do you mean to say that you have left for good?" She nodded, and commenced to dry her eyes with a little lace handkerchief. "Yes--your mother--Lady Deringham has been very horrid--as though the silly papers were of any use to me or any one else in the world! I have not copied them. I am not deceitful! It is all an excuse to get rid of me because of--of you." She looked up at him and suddenly dropped her eyes. Wolfenden began to see some glimmerings of light. He was still, however, bewildered. "Look here," he said kindly, "why you are here I cannot for the life of me imagine, but you had better just tell me all about it." She rose up suddenly and caught her gloves from the table. "I think I will go away," she said. "I was very stupid to come; please forget it and---- Goodbye." He caught her by the wrist as she passed. "Nonsense," he exclaimed, "you mustn't go like this." She looked steadfastly away from him and tried to withdraw her arm. "You are angry with me for coming," she said. "I am very, very sorry; I will go away. Please don't stop me." He held her wrist firmly. "Miss Merton!" "Miss Merton!" She repeated his words reproachfully, lifting her eyes suddenly to his, that he might see the tears gathering there. Wolfenden began to feel exceedingly uncomfortable. "Well, Blanche, then," he said slowly. "Is that better?" She answered nothing, but looked at him again. Her hand remained in his. She suffered him to lead her back to the chair. "It's all nonsense your going away, you know," he said a little awkwardly. "You can't wonder that I am surprised. Perhaps you don't know that it is a little late--after midnight, in fact. Where should you go to if you ran away like that? Do you know any one in London?"