To Andy she was a problem, needing time to think over; to Wellgood she was a postulate, assumed not proved, yet assumed to be proved; to Harry she was--save for that subtle momentary feeling on the terrace by the lake--Vivien's companion. She wanted to be something other than any of these. Follow the hounds on foot? She would know what it was to ride! Know and not like--in Vivien's fashion? Andy, slowly digesting, saw her lips curve in that bitter smile again. From a path near by, yet secluded behind a thick trim hedge of yew, there sounded a girl's nervous flutter of a laugh, a young man's exultant merriment. Harry and Vivien, not far away, seemed the space of a world apart--to Isobel; Andy was normally conscious that they were not more than twenty yards off, and almost within hearing if they spoke. But he had been getting at Isobel's meaning--slowly and surely. "Being able to ride--having the opportunity--and not caring--that's pearls before--?" "I congratulate you, Mr. Hayes. I can imagine you making a very good speech--after the election is over!" Andy laughed heartily, leaning back in his chair. "That's jolly good, Miss Vintry!" he said. "Ten minutes after the poll closed you'd begin to persuade the electors!" She spoke rather lower. "Ten minutes after a girl had taken another man, you'd--" "Give me time! I've never thought about myself like that," cried Andy. No more sounds from the path behind the yew hedge. She was impatient with Andy--would Harry never come back from that path? He came back the next moment--he and Vivien. Vivien's face was a confession, Harry's air a self-congratulation. "I hope you've been making yourself amusing, Andy?" asked Harry. His tone conveyed a touch of amusement at the idea of Andy being amusing. "Miss Vintry's been pitching into me like anything," said Andy, smiling broadly. "She says I'm always a day after the fair. I'm going to think it over--and try to get a move on." His good-nature, his simplicity, his serious intention to attempt self-improvement, tickled Harry intensely. Why, probably Isobel had wanted to flirt, and Andy had failed to play up to her! He burst into a laugh; Vivien's laugh followed as an applauding echo. "A lecture, was it, Miss Vintry?" Harry asked in banter. "I could give you one too," said Isobel, colouring a little. "She gives me plenty!" Vivien remarked, with a solemnly comic shake of her head. "It's my business in life," said Isobel. Just for a second Harry looked at her; an impish smile was on his lips. Did she think that, was she honest about it? Or was she provocative? It crossed Harry's mind--past experiences facilitating the transit of the idea--that she might be saying to him, "Is that all a young woman of my looks is good for? To give lectures?"