“Lady Ruth,” he said, “you have spoken the truth. I am a dead man. I have no affections; I care neither for you nor for any living being. All that goes to the glory and joy of life perished in that uncountable roll of days, when the sun went out, and inch by inch the wall rose which will divide me forever from you and all the world. Frankly, it was not I who once loved you. It was the man who died in prison. His flesh and bones may have survived--nothing else!” She rose slowly to her feet. Her eyes seemed to be dilating. “There is another woman!” she exclaimed softly. Her voice was like velvet, but the agony in her face was unmistakable. “There is no other woman,” he answered. She stood quite still. “She is here with you now,” she cried. “Who is it, Wingrave? Tell me the truth!” “The truth is already told,” he answered. “Except my cook and her assistants, there is not a woman in the house!” Again she listened. She gave a little hoarse cry, and Wingrave started. Out in the hall a girl’s clear laugh rang like a note of music to their ears. “You lie!” she cried fiercely. “You lie! I will know who she is.” Suddenly the door was thrown open! Juliet stood there, her hands full of roses, her face flushed and brilliant with smiles. “How delightful to find you here!” she exclaimed, coming swiftly across to Wingrave. “I do hope you won’t mind my coming. Normandy is off, and I have nowhere else to go.” She saw Lady Ruth and stopped. “Oh! I beg your pardon!” she exclaimed. “I did not know.” “This is Lady Ruth Barrington,” Wingrave said; “my ward, Miss Juliet Lundy.” “Your--ward?” Lady Ruth said, gazing at her intently. Juliet nodded. “Sir Wingrave has been very kind to me since I was a child,” she said softly. “He has let me live here with Mrs. Tresfarwin, and I am afraid I sometimes forget that it is not really my home. Am I in the way?” she asked, looking wistfully towards Wingrave. “By no means!” he exclaimed. “Lady Ruth is just going. Will you see that she has some tea or something?” Lady Ruth laughed quietly. “I think,” she said, “that it is I who am in the way! I should love some tea, if there is time, but whatever happens, I must not miss that train.” A DREAM OF PARADISE