"And to-day you will be wise to banish all recollection of the box. It cannot be helped now,—and we cannot go back, to tell my wife that you do not wish her to touch those things. It would be—rather an invidious thing to do . . . After all, the feeling is mere sentiment, and not a very healthy kind of sentiment . . . Could you not make a better use of your sister's possessions, than to keep them locked up,—useless to yourself and to everybody?" "I don't know. I didn't think of that before." Tears came fast. "Well, give a little thought to the question when you get home. Now you have to forget it, and to make the most of this perfect day. See what a blaze of sunshine!" Lettice made a resolute effort to obey, smiled, chatted, and seemed to forget her trouble. But the Doctor did not forget. A transient wonder more than once crossed his mind—had Lettice told him all? Was it possible that some other cause existed for this odd reluctance to let Theodosia open her box? The reluctance seemed "odd" to the Doctor, since such a feeling would not have been natural to himself in her place. He could not now feel absolutely certain of her truth and transparency, as once he could; and if he continued to trust her in the main, it was resolute trusting in the face of doubts. Such doubts assailed him to-day, once and again. Lettice looked up wonderingly, at the sound of a sigh, in the midst of their cheerful talk. She would have liked to ask the reason, but did not: and the Doctor vouchsafed none. "You are late!" declared Theodosia, as the two came in, close upon seven o'clock. "I expected you an hour ago. Dinner has had to be put off, and of course everything will be spoilt." "I suppose we are both rather tired. It took us longer coming home than I reckoned." "People always manage to knock themselves up in these ridiculous excursions." Theodosia forgot for the moment that she was herself the originator of the excursion in question; and nobody reminded her of the fact. She stood looking at them, a restless exultant gleam in her eyes. "I suppose you know that it is past dinner-time. The gong will sound directly." "Five minutes to seven. And you said just now that you had put off dinner." "I told them to wait if you were not back. Of course they have seen you come in." "Well, we have a little superfluous mud and dust to get rid of, before we can sit down. Get ready, child, as fast as you can." Lettice went to her room, in sudden dread of what she might find there. She had managed pretty well, during the day, to banish recollections of Theodosia and the keys; but the pent-up wave of foreboding broke bounds now, and rushed through her mind, to the exclusion of all else.