I told her my tale, not forgetting what had passed between Fillingford and myself when we were alone. "Not so bad! I think we'll go ahead now!" said Jenny. CHAPTER XXIV A CHANCE FOR THE ROMANTIC All was as ready as all could be made. The plans were laid, the approaches prepared, the battalions marshaled. For so much a commander must wait--a good one waits no longer. We went ahead. The Thursday which Jenny had forecasted as likely to be busy turned out to be busy in fact. One thing happened for which she gave the word--another which, as I am persuaded, did not surprise her very much. It had to come--it had better be over and done with. In all likelihood she gave the word for this second thing also. How were these words given? Ah, there I am out of my depth. In our relations to the other sex we men are naturally on the aggressive. The man pursued of woman exists no doubt--but as an abnormality--a queer by-product of a civilization intent on many things non-natural. The normal man is on the attack, and ignorant, by consequence, of the minutiae of the science of defense. Whether the intent be surrender, or whether it be that the moment has come for a definitive repulse of the main attack, there are, no doubt, preliminary operations. Scouts are called in, pickets withdrawn, skirmishes retired; all these have served their function--have given information, have foretold the attack, have felt the strength of the opposing forces, and held them in check while the counsels of the defense were taken and its measures perfected. The order is issued--Let them come on--and on they come, to their triumph or their overthrow. But all this is woman's campaigning--to be dimly understood in its outlines, vaguely grasped in its general principles; but how precisely those preliminary operations are performed man, when he has the best opportunity of discovering, is generally too flurried to observe nicely, too deeply engaged in developing his attack to see, more than half blindly, the maneuvers that allow him an open field for it. Somehow then, on that Thursday, Jenny offered battle--and on two fronts. She threw her ally Margaret open to Lacey's assault; she accepted, on her own account, a direct attack from Dormer. She wished the offensive operations to be practically simultaneous, and substantially achieved the object. One took place before four in the afternoon--the other not later than nine o'clock at night. Keenly recognizing the fact that I was not wanted at the Priory--I am not sure that Jenny's pointed remark that she would be glad to see me "after dinner" did not assist the recognition--I remained in my own quarters after returning from our couple of hours' morning work. I rather thought that I might be called into action again later on, but I was not concerned in the present operations.