"Not that there is anything to be surprised at in it," he assured her father and Sydney; "there are a great many cases of the kind about just now," and he went on to murmur something about "the season," "the changeable weather," and other scapegoats of the kind always ready at hand to bear the blame of any illness not altogether to be accounted for or easily defined. But greatly to the relief of every one concerned, before long Eugenia began to mend, and it was then decided that what she had been suffering from had been nothing worse than "a feverish cold," and the less observant of her friends made themselves quite happy about her again. Their rejoicing, however, proved somewhat premature. When the girl came downstairs and began to go about again as usual, it became very evident, that though she had escaped an acute illness, she was far from having regained her ordinary strength. Sydney watched her anxiously, trusting at first that a few days would bring improvement, but on the contrary, at the end of a week, Eugenia seemed paler and more feeble than when she first got up. She would not own to being ill; she was only tired, she said--tired of the long winter, for spring was slow in coming that year; she would be all right when the summer came again, and Sydney must not trouble about her. "Besides, dear," she said plaintively, "though I don't want to be selfish, you know the idea of losing you so soon _is_ rather overwhelming to me," and the tears which seemed now-a-days nearer at hand than formerly, rushed to her eyes. "If you are not looking better by the end of April than you do now, I shall put off my marriage," returned Sydney. "And what would Frank say? Think how he would hate me! As it is, I believe he thinks my being ill at all is a piece of my usual perversity," said Eugenia, half playfully, half sadly. "I daresay it is true. I have always given you a great deal of trouble, Sydney, and by rights it should have been the other way. I should have looked after you." "So you have. Neither of us could have got on without the other, and Frank knows that," replied Sydney, consolingly. "But, Eugenia, I mean what I say; so you had better be quick and get well."