"It is the only word that can be used," replied Mrs. Tice emphatically. "No, do not ask me any more, my dear young lady. The secret I hold is not my own to tell. Should Mr. Allen give me permission to reveal it, I shall do so; otherwise I prefer to be silent." One would have thought that this speech was final; but Dora was too bent upon learning the truth of Allen's strange behaviour to be satisfied. She urged, she cajoled, she threatened, she implored, but all to no purpose. Whatever it was that Mrs. Tice knew detrimental to the past of Mr. Edermont, she was determined to keep it to herself. Evidently there was nothing left but to wait until Allen returned. From experience Dora knew that she could wheedle anything out of her easy-going lover. "Do you know anything about Lady Burville?" asked Dora, finding she could not persuade Mrs. Tice into confessing what she knew. "I know nothing--not even the name," said the housekeeper. "Why do you ask?" "Because Lady Burville has something to do with the quarrel between Mr. Edermont and Allen." "I can safely say that I know nothing on that point, Miss Carew. Lady Burville is a complete stranger to me, and, I should say, to Mr. Allen. I have never heard him speak of her." "But Mr. Edermont knows her." "Very probably. Mr. Edermont knows many people I am unacquainted with. You must remember, Miss Carew, that there is a vast difference between the position of a gentleman and that of a housekeeper." "Then, Lady Burville has nothing to do with Mr. Edermont's past?" "So far as I know she has not," replied Mrs. Tice promptly. "I don't know everything, my dear young lady." "Can you guess the cause of this quarrel?" "Yes. I told you so before; but I cannot speak of it." "Do you fancy that Mr. Edermont told Allen this secret you speak of?" Mrs. Tice made no immediate reply, but smoothed her silken apron with trembling hands. At length she said: "I do not know. I trust he did not. But if he did speak----" "Yes, Mrs. Tice," said Dora eagerly, "if he did speak?" The housekeeper drew a long breath. "If he did speak," she repeated, "you will never--never--never become the wife of Allen Scott." CHAPTER V. MR. EDERMONT'S HIGH SPIRITS. After that extraordinary conversation with Allen's housekeeper, Dora returned home more mystified than ever. Like everyone else, Mrs. Tice hinted at secrets of the past likely to affect the future, yet refused any explanation of such hints. Edermont and Joad acted in the same unsatisfactory way, and Allen, to avoid questioning, absented himself from her presence. It was all very tiresome, she thought, and perfectly inexplicable. Only one fact stood out clearly in Dora's mind, namely, that Lady Burville was responsible for all this confusion; therefore, she argued, Lady Burville must hold the clue to a possible disentanglement. This was logical.